The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a federal civil rights investigation into a Muslim-centered planned community around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said Friday.

Cornyn requested the federal probe of the development last month, citing concerns it could discriminate against Christians and Jews. He announced in a post on X that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had notified him of the investigation.

The developers of the proposed planned community tied to the East Plano Islamic Center, which has not yet been built, have said they are being bullied because they are Muslim.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment or to confirm Cornyn’s announcement.

A federal probe would further escalate pressure on the proposed EPIC City, which is already facing mounting criticism and multiple investigations from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and other GOP state officials who claim the group is trying to create a Muslim-exclusive community that would impose Islamic law on residents.

Among its chief critics is the state’s hard-right Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is challenging Cornyn for his Senate seat in 2026.

“Religious discrimination and Sharia Law have no home in Texas,” Cornyn, of Texas, wrote in his post on X. “Any violations of federal law must be swiftly prosecuted, and I know under (President Donald Trump’s) administration, they will be.”

Dan Cogdell, an attorney for EPIC City who defended Paxton in his 2023 impeachment trial when he was acquitted by the state Senate, said the developers have “done nothing illegal and we will cooperate fully with all investigations-regardless of how misguided and unnecessary they are.”

The state investigations include whether the development is violating financial and fair housing laws and whether the mosque has conducted illegal funerals.

Cogdell has said none of the investigations would be happening if the community was planned around a church or temple.

The attacks on the project about Islamic law and other claims “are not only completely without merit and totally misleading but they are dangerous as well,” Cogdell said Friday. “These folks are US Citizens, law abiding and Texans.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations in the Dallas area also has criticized the state probes as bullying the Muslim community and a violation of constitutionally protected religious expression.

Plans for the mixed-used development include more than 1,000 homes and apartments, a faith-based school for kindergarten through 12th grade, a community college, assisted living for older residents and athletics fields.

EPIC City would be near the community of Josephine, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Dallas.

Dallas-based Half Price Books is helping lead the fight against a bill being considered in Austin.

The bill would allow bookstores to be sued for selling or even displaying harmful material to minors.

Supporters say it’s needed to protect children, but critics call it censorship.

Workers at Half Price Books love reading but reading every book that comes through its doors, President Kathy Doyle Thomas says, is unrealistic.

But that, she says, is what her stores would be expected to do under a bill proposed by Republican State Rep. Nate Schatzline of Fort Worth.

“How do we know in all of these books that we have in all of the stores across the state — We don’t know what’s inappropriate. [They] could be inappropriate in Corpus Christi compared to Dallas, Texas,” explained Doyle Thomas.

HB 1375 would hold bookstores liable for “damages arising from the distribution, transmission, or display of harmful material to a minor.”

Rep. Schatzline told a House committee last month that it provides parents with the option to sue those who expose children to obscene content.

“As lawmakers, we have a duty to protect families and children from exploitation and from the unchecked spread of harmful spread of harmful materials in our communities and online,” said Rep. Schatzline.

Doyle Thomas says titles in the romance, mystery and self-help sections would be at the top of the list of those at risk of being targeted.

“When I saw the bill, I was just frustrated and mad and I thought we have to do something about it,” she said.

In a recent letter to lawmakers, Doyle Thomas wrote that HB 1375 is “a threat to all booksellers” and asked them not to interfere with their ability to do business in what’s seen by critics as the latest chapter in book censorship.

“Someone is trying to decide what I can and can’t read and my children can and can’t read and we do not think that’s fair or appropriate,” said Doyle Thomas.

The bill remains in a House committee.

The Texas legislative session is scheduled to end on June 2.

“I thought we had a lot more guys look a lot more dangerous tonight, up and down the lineup,” DeBoer said. “You know, that’s a credit to our group. We looked at last game, we made some adjustments, and our whole group was more dangerous. We got some great contributions from some unsung heroes. Our penalty kill, I thought Sam Steel was outstanding tonight, Colin] [Blackwell had a couple of blocked shots. A lot of work by guys that don’t get noticed a lot.”