Tue 28 Sep 2010
Project SALAM Endorses Protest of FBI Raids at the Leo O’Brien Federal Building on September 29
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , DemocracyNo Comments
“Did he actually himself engage in terrorist acts?  Well we didn’t have the evidence of that, but he had the ideology….Our investigation was concerned with what he was going to do here and in order to preempt anything else we decide to take the steps that we did take [to set up a fake sting].” (Press Conf. Tran. p. 7)
The “ideology” on which the FBI focused were people who were sympathetic to “terrorists” and might help them in the future even if they were not “people who are going to participate in (terrorism) directly” (p.13).  The Aref prosecutor said,
“There is concern that (Aref) is one of those people…and the sting preempted anything that mighthave happened later on.”  (p. 13)
In other words, the FBI at that time was investigating and prosecuting ideological crimes — the ideology of being sympathetic toward “terrorism”.
It is ironic that members of the right wing tea party can say publicly that if their followers do not get what they want from the government they can resort to their “2nd amendment rights”; the Klu Klux Klan can own a private training base where members are indoctrinated in hate, and learn to shoot modern weapons.  According to the FBI none of this indicates sympathy to “terrorism”, and is not prosecuted by the FBI presumably because it involves protected 1st and 2nd amendment rights.  But if someone communicates with a member a foreign terrorist organization in order to persuade the organization to give up terror, that person can be prosecuted for Material Support of Terrorism.  (Humanitarial Law Project v. Holder).  All the pieces are in place for another right wing witch hunt for “terrorist sympathizers”, and “Muslim-lovers”.
It is up to us to draw together in solidarity against this threat from our own government.  In the words of Pastor Neimoller who became a victim of the Nazis:
First they came for the Jews [Muslims] – and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists [Peace Activists] — and IÂ did not speak out because IÂ was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists [Liberals] — and I did not speak out because  I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.