What started as a local master-planned community near Dallas became a national political flashpoint. Now the Trump DOJ is walking away.
A high-profile civil rights investigation into Epic City, a Muslim-led development pitched as an inclusive master-planned community near the small town of Josephine, has been closed with no findings of wrongdoing, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed this week. The developer, Community Capital Partners, is connected to the East Plano Islamic Center.
The probe, launched last month by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi after pressure from U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and a number of Texas Republicans, ended with a brief letter stating that the developers had affirmed the project would be open to all and that its marketing would be revised to reflect that, the Dallas Morning News reported. No legal action was taken.
The decision marks the latest twist in a political and cultural saga surrounding Epic City
Texas officials including Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton launched multiple state-level investigations into the proposed development. Abbott recently signed legislation targeting Epic’s business structure and sales model, which allows early investors to buy into ownership shares of the development.
Critics claimed the project could discriminate against non-Muslims and foster “no-go areas.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations, argued the scrutiny amounted to Islamophobic overreach.
“All of the investigations spawn from the imagination of Governor Abbott,” attorney Dan Cogdell, who defended Paxton in his impeachment trial two years ago and was retained by the developers, told the New York Times. “I’ve said since day one, there’s no there, there. We’re appreciative of a quick resolution and we expect more to come.”
The project, planned for 402 acres in Collin and Hunt counties, has not yet started construction. Community Capital Partners said it intends to begin residential permitting later this summer. The master plan includes more than 1,000 homes, a mosque, a school and community college, health clinics and retail space.
The DOJ closure doesn’t halt the five remaining state-level investigations, but it’s a symbolic win for the developer and a shot across the bow for politicians hoping to derail the project through federal pressure.
— Judah Duke
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DOJ investigating Muslim-centered Epic City project
Muslim developers tap Paxton’s lawyer to fend off state probes
