Overview: These claims are unfounded and are clear examples of common anti-Muslim conspiracy theories.

Description: In early June 2020, during a conversation with a constituent, the mayor of St. Charles, Missouri, promoted a common anti-Muslim conspiracy theory implying that the recent structural changes to the police department in Minneapolis, Minnesota—which he characterized as having a “very strongly Muslim” population—would lead to the implementation of Sharia law. Later in June, Minnesota State Representative Steve Green claimed, without evidence, “Antifa and Muslim organizations plan to ‘police Minneapolis under Muslim rule.’”

Anti-Muslim ideologue Robert Spencer amplified Green’s comments, claiming, “in 2016, a series of Minneapolis Muslims in man-on-the-street interviews stated matter-of-factly that they preferred Islamic law over American law.” Spencer warned that a group like New York City’s Muslim Community Patrol may emerge in Minneapolis, repeating the false claim that the New York-based patrol—a volunteer group which is primarily focused on preventative measures to deter criminals—enforces Sharia law. The Idaho chapter of ACT for America, the largest anti-Muslim group in the United States, promoted Spencer’s article and the Sharia law conspiracy theory on Facebook, which garnered comments like, “HERE we GO another move forward in the Muslim INVATION [sic] process!!!!!”

Additional social media accounts claim that Black Lives Matter is working with the Muslim Brotherhood and cite the decision by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter as evidence of an impending Muslim takeover of America.