If you believe the feds, the group of local Muslims arrested across South Florida this past weekend were supporters of terrorism and worked to fund those who would kill and kidnap in the name of Islam.
The four-count indictment claims the six men conspired with Pakistani terrorists and provided $45,000 in support. They face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
"The indictment and arrests were based on the defendants' words, actions, and bank accounts," U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer told reporters. "They were providing anything the Taliban needed in Pakistan to sustain their effort."
Ask their families and friends, though, and these were men with nothing but peace in their hearts. "He has nothing to hide -- he's a wonderful guy," a parishioner at one of the
mosques told the Sun-Sentinel of one of the two
imams arrested Saturday. One of the men's sons described his father's
mosque this way to the New York Times: "It only does good
things for people, and it only does the right thing."
Those are
two very different descriptions, and it's not uncommon in these arrests
of Muslims accused of aiding terrorist organizations. It's also not
uncommon for these types of charges to end much differently from what the
government had hoped. Proving that the money sent to Pakistan ended up
in the hands of terrorists can be difficult in front of a jury, as the
feds figured out recently in a similar case.
Last week, the feds
dropped charges against South Florida head-shop owners of mostly
Lebanese descent. The men were accused of selling cocaine and sending
profits overseas for terrorism. A two-year investigation by the FBI
ended without enough evidence to even charge the men with drugs, let
alone aiding terrorists.
The U.S. Attorney's Office made the
rare move of explaining why charges were dropped in that case, issuing a
statement to the Miami Herald that said "new
information surfaced that, in our discretion, made it appropriate to
dismiss the charges."
It was odd timing considering the bust that
would follow days later, arrests the feds are surely hoping don't end
the same way.
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