“A
master-planned
‘community
of
thousands
of
Muslims’
could
violate
the
constitutional
rights
of
Jewish
and
Christian
Texans,
by
preventing
them
from
living
in
this
new
community,”
Cornyn

wrote.

The

Council
on
American-Islamic
Relations
(CAIR)

condemned
Cornyn’s
call
as
discriminatory
and
baseless.

“Rather
than
targeting
Muslim
charities
working
to
build
family-centered
communities,
the
Department
of
Justice
should
investigate
Texas
officials
who
appear
to
be
violating
the
Constitution
by
singling
out
Muslims
for
political
gain,”
said
Robert
McCaw,
director
of
CAIR’s
government
affairs
department.

CAIR
also
sent
its
own

letter
to
the
DOJ,
asking
for
a
civil
rights
investigation
into
what
it
described
as
“unconstitutional
targeting
of
Muslim
communities”
by
Texas
leaders.

The
organization
argues
these
investigations
infringe
on
the
First
Amendment’s
free
exercise
clause
and
the
Fourteenth
Amendment’s
Equal
Protection
Clause.

AG
involvement,
political
race

The
situation
intensified
as
Texas
Attorney
General
Ken
Paxton
announced
an
expansion
of

his
own
investigation
into
EPIC
City.

On
Tuesday,
Paxton
requested
communications
between
the

East
Plano
Islamic
Center
and
city
officials
in
Plano,
Richardson
and
Wylie,
Texas.

“If
any
local
official
is
supporting
or
communicating
with
a
real
estate
development
that
is
under
investigation
for
potential
violations
of
state
law,
then
it’s
imperative
that
we
are
made
aware,”
he
said.

Paxton
is
already
investigating

Community
Capital
Partners,
the
for-profit
developer
of
EPIC
City
and
EPIC
City
Ranches,
which
was
founded
by
former
East
Plano
Islamic
Center
leaders.

The
move
comes
amid
a
heated
Republican
primary
battle
for
Cornyn’s


Senate
seat.

Paxton,
who
recently
announced
a
challenge
to
Cornyn,
has
already
launched
attack
ads
questioning
Cornyn’s
conservative
record.
Cornyn,
in
turn,
has
called
Paxton
a
“fraud,”
pointing
to
his
legal
scandals
and
impeachment
history.

EPIC
City
background

According
to
the
developer’s
website,
EPIC
City
will
include
single-family
and
multifamily
homes,
parks,
schools,
businesses
and
a
mosque.

The
development,
located
in
Collin
and
Hunt
counties
about
40
miles
northeast
of

Dallas,
sold
out
its
first
500-lot
phase
and
is
accepting
investors
for
the
next,

according
to
a
local
Fox
News
affiliate.

“The
vision
for
EPIC
City
is
simple,”
CCP
President
Imran
Chaudhary
previously
told
county
officials.
“We
want
to
build
an
inclusive
community,
one
in
which
people
of
every
background,
faith,
and
culture
can
live
together
in
harmony.”

Gov.
Greg
Abbott
has
also
asked
the
Texas
Rangers
to
investigate
the
mosque
and
associated
businesses.
Multiple
state
agencies
—
including
the

Texas
Commission
on
Environmental
Quality
and
the

Texas
Funeral
Service
Commission
—
have
sent
inquiries
or
notices
to
EPIC-related
entities,
according
to
the
Fox
affiliate.

CAIR
has
called
these
investigations
“politically
motivated”
and
“designed
to
chill
Muslim
civic
engagement.”

In
February,
Abbott

posted
on
social
media
that
“Sharia
law
is
not
allowed
in
Texas,”
prompting
further
backlash.