AVON, Ohio — A Lorain County grand jury chose not to indict the hotel desk clerk accused of falsely reporting that an Emirati guest pledged his allegiance to ISIS.

The grand jury opted not to indict the clerk or anyone else involved in the June 29 arrest of Ahmed Al Menhali at the Fairfield Inn and Suites on Colorado Avenue, Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will said Tuesday.

The incident sparked outrage amongst Muslim civil rights groups and also resulted in the termination of the hotel clerk. The police department also issued an apology to the tourist, but stated they proceeded with proper protocol as a result of the 911 call. 

Avon officers arrested Al Menhali at gunpoint after a 911 caller said the United Arab Emirates native was “pledging his allegiance to ISIS” at the hotel. Hotel desk clerk Alexis Silva later told officers that Al Menhali “freaked her out” but never mentioned ISIS, body camera video showed.

The Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office investigated the incident and presented evidence to a grand jury. The grand jury considered felony and misdemeanor charges, Will said.

“It should be noted that circumstances surrounding inaccurate reports of criminal activity are reviewed based upon a number of factors, including whether there was any intentionally false information or malicious motivations present in making the report to the police,” Will said in a statement.

Cleveland attorneys David Malik and Steven Goldberg are representing Al Menhali and still plan to file a civil lawsuit related to his false arrest, Malik said Tuesday.

“The incident was unfortunate. The incident was preventable. And the incident is extremely serious,” Malik said.

Malik argued that the false report resulted in Al Menhali, who is a Muslim, enduring an unnecessary ordeal. Minutes after police un-cuffed him he collapsed and was taken to a local hospital. 

Malik believes Al Menhali’s religion was a factor in the false report.

“I think as we proceed with the civil case, the public will have a much better understanding that Mr. Al Menhali was the victim in this case,” he said.

Jensen on Tuesday reiterated his earlier apology to Al Menhali and called the incident a “very regrettable situation.”