Mom, daughter suing ex-Grosse Pointe Park neighbor over KKK flag in window

A Grosse Pointe Woods woman and her daughter, who are Black, are suing their former Grosse Pointe Park neighbor, who is white, over his display in 2021 of a Ku Klux Klan flag in his window directly facing their former home.

Je Donna Dinges and her daughter filed a civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Detroit against Ryan Wilde, stating in their complaint that "his racist and violent threats forced them to move out of their home."

The February 2021 incident garnered national attention, and the Grosse Pointe Park community organized a march in support of Dinges. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy determined the incident was not a crime under the Michigan Ethnic Intimidation Statute.

This week, the Dingeses filed a federal lawsuit against their former neighbor, with whom they had a volley of disputes. In addition to placing the flag directly facing their home, their complaint alleges he also placed a full canister of gasoline in their recycling bin, exhibited intimidating behavior and fired a handgun from his back porch.

The Dingeses allege racial discrimination and unlawful interference with their right to hold property. They are seeking relief under Michigan law for ethnic intimidation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and negligence, according to their complaint.

'It's the threat that's the issue in our case'

Michael Steinberg, along with student attorneys Anna Silk and Sarah Hall at the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative at the University of Michigan Law School, are representing the Dingeses. Steinberg is the founding director of the initiative and former legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.

He said the federal court has jurisdiction to hear state court claims.

"The relief we're seeking is monetary damages," he said, adding the Dingeses are seeking a jury trial unless the case is settled.

Steinberg said whether someone thinks Worthy should have filed charges or not, "the standard of proof is much higher. The county prosecutor would have to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. In a civil case like ours, you just have to prove the preponderance of the evidence. It's the threat that's the issue in our case."

He said "given the history of the KKK in burning down houses in Detroit and burning down houses of Black residents, in general, it would be easy for the jury to conclude that the Dingeses felt threatened by putting the gas can in the recycling bin and the flag and the gunshots. I think we have a very strong case."

'I should be able to live in Grosse Pointe Park'

Je Donna Dinges said it's important to file the lawsuit because it "sends a very strong message that this type of behavior is not acceptable in civilized society to want to harm someone (or) kill someone because they are Black."

"You can live in any community. I should be able to live in Grosse Pointe Park, Highland Park or Oak Park without someone targeting me because I'm a Black woman. I feel very strongly this is the right thing to do when people show this type of hatred," she said.

Wilde could not be reached for comment by the Free Press, including in person at his home. No attorney was listed for him on federal court documents.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday. No court dates have been set. The flag was taken down after the incident in 2021. It was not visible when a reporter stopped by Wilde's house in Grosse Pointe Park on Wednesday.

Cameras and curtains

The Dingeses lived in their rental home on Wayburn Street in Grosse Pointe Park for 11 years, beginning in 2011. The complaint states Wilde moved in in 2017 and he was "unfriendly to the Dingeses, and the two parties did not have a cordial relationship."

In January 2021, Je Donna Dinges' ex-husband found a full canister of gasoline in their recycling bin, and police advised to install a security camera to identify who placed the canister, should it happen again. Je Donna Dinges purchased a motion-sensing camera, according to the complaint.

It states Wilde called police Feb. 2, 2021, to report the camera, which was inside the Dingeses' home, was pointed toward his dining area. Police advised he hang up curtains or blinds.

The Dingeses felt threatened by their neighbor and lived in constant fear of him, their complaint states, and they moved from their Wayburn home in December 2021 to escape the distress.

Silk and Hall, the student attorneys, said the case is unusual because there isn't much civil case law on neighbor-to-neighbor harassment. More commonly, they said, a lawsuit may be a resident suing a homeowners association, for example.

Hall said similar cases have been filed in other states, and they anticipate the court moving forward with the Dingeses' case.

Steinberg said there are thousands of fair-housing cases where tenants sue landlords or cases involving banks or real estate agents, but not as many where a neighbor sues a neighbor for interfering with the use of one's property based on race discrimination.

The Dingeses’ complaint does not request a specific amount for damages, but states, among other things, that they incurred several thousand dollars in moving expenses and a significant increase in their rent for a smaller home in Grosse Pointe Woods as well as stress and anxiety.

'Nothing can give us that time back'

They are asking for a judgment three times the actual damages they suffered, as they are entitled under the Michigan Ethnic Intimidation Act if Wilde is found in violation, as well as attorneys' fees and costs.

Silk and Hall said the filing falls within the three-year statute of limitations and was forwarded to the initiative by the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit. They said the former neighbor's conduct was "shameful, racist and outrageous" and cannot be tolerated.

Je Donna Dinges said that while seeking a legal remedy is worthwhile, "(w)e can't go back and undo the harm that's been done to India and I. It was very difficult. But there is nothing that can give us that time back, peace of mind, sense of safety or sense of security or community. But this is a way of sending a message to folks who seek to harm others that it's not OK. We hope a jury hears this case and also sends a message."

She hopes the lawsuit will encourage others who face similar incidents.

"When something like this happens to you, do not take it lying down because this is unacceptable," she said. "When racism comes to us, it does not come in a whisper. We have to respond just as bombastically as racism comes to us."

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mom, daughter sue ex-Grosse Pointe Park neighbor over KKK flag