Three women who made national headlines for accusing a Detroit urban farmer of attempting to burn down their homes and murder them are being sued for $300,000 in damages. The story has been referred to by media outlets as a case of "gardening while Black."

The 32-year-old victim, Marc Peeples, has made it his mission to revitalize his old neighborhood of Hunt Park located on Detroit's east side.

In March of last year, Deborah Nash, Martha Callahan and Callahan's granddaughter, Jennifer Morris, harassed Peeples and called police on him after finding themselves disgruntled by his gardening projects. The cadre of embittered women made numerous calls to local authorities claiming he stalked and made threats of arson and murder against them.

WXYZ News reports the lawsuit states the trio did not want him in their neighborhood because he was a Black man.

The Detroit Police Department (DPD) charged the farmer with three counts of stalking. In May of 2018, a Wayne County judge dismissed the case due to fabricated allegations. The women also lied under oath.

"I was arrested in front of children, and even after I was arrested my name was still being slandered, people were still saying things about me that weren't true," Peeples told The Detroit Metro Times. "I wanted to hold people accountable. I was locked up, I had to face trial, and I had to put my life back together."

The lawsuit filed last week alleges the women "conspired to accuse Marc of various crimes that they knew or had reason to know he did not commit." It also demands the three pay up to $300,000 in damages including lawyer and court fees due to the nine months of harassment he suffered.

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Peeples is confident the women wanted to keep him out of the neighborhood because of his race. One of the allegations seemingly supports his argument. In the slew of claims against him, the women told police the pan-African colors in a flag he owns were gang colors.

"They just want to control any and everything they see," Peeples told 7 Action News on Monday. "They don't want to see a young Black man coming up, doing something positive."

A report from The Metro Times explains Peeples and attorney Robert Burton-Harris' decision to take legal action against the women. According to Burton-Harris, they were hoping the local authorities or the prosecutor's office would reprimand the three. But within the last few months, nothing has been done.

"We want some consequences," Burton-Harris said in recent interview with the Metro Times. "We waited to see if DPD or prosecutor's office would investigate the women, and that didn't happen, so that's part of the reason we decided to move forward."

The farmer with a purpose intends to continue serving his community and the youth living there. About four months ago, a GoFundMe campaign launched in his honor to help fund his revitalization efforts received $54,078 in donations surpassing a $5,000 goal.

His "Liberated Farms" will be a part of some of the city's local schools' STEM curriculum. There are also plans to add playground equipment for children.

"I have to do for my people and that's my concern — rebuilding the neighborhood back up," Peeples told the Metro Times.

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Marc Peeples

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