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Two arrested at anti-Sharia law protest in Virginia Beach

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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Police say two people at a Sharia Law protest were arrested Saturday for assault and disorderly conduct.

The protest started at Mt. Trashmore around 3 p.m. and, according to police, was largely a “quiet display of individuals expressing their First Amendment rights.”

The Virginia Beach event was part of a national effort organized by ACT for America to protest against Islamic law some call a threat to American freedoms. Critics say these protests are anti-Muslim and distorting the religion.

ACT for America organized other marches in more than two dozen cities, saying on its website that “Sharia is incompatible with Western democracy and the freedoms it affords.” The Southern Poverty Law Center says ACT for America is the largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in America.

Sharia law doesn’t exist the United States, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a political issue.

When President Donald Trump campaigned last year, he said he wanted to test Muslims coming into America to make sure they don’t want Sharia law to supersede the US Constitution.

More than a dozen states have passed, or are trying to pass, laws to curb the possibility of Sharia law making its way onto the books in the US. ACT for America often promotes this legislation.