I suppose this was inevitable: A Twitter hashtag has developed devoted to the proposition that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is innocent: #Freejahar, for those curious to check it out. Spencer Ackerman describes it as follows:
Barely two days after cops
While the manhunt for one of the Boston bombing suspects was underway Friday, Susan and I wrote up this short annotated bibliography linking to pertinent resources about the conflicts in Chechnya and Kyrgzstan. Over the weekend, we took a deeper … Read more »
Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain were quick out of the box last night in declaring that the Obama administration should hold Dzhokar Tsarnaev in military detention:
Now that the suspect is in custody, the last thing we should want
Unless there is good reason to believe that the Tsarnaev brothers were acting as agents of al Qaeda or some other AUMF-covered group, talk of putting Dzhokar Tsarnaev into military custody as an enemy combatant makes no legal sense, for … Read more »
We’re reposting our Twitter feed of reliable sources on the manhunt that’s ongoing in Boston right now. As with last time: “This does not mean that everything they are saying will turn out to be correct. This is a fluid … Read more »
It has been widely reported that the two prime suspects in the Boston marathon bombings—one who was killed in a shootout early this morning—are ethnic Chechens. The brothers allegedly lived in Kyrgyzstan with their family before moving to the United … Read more »
. . . where one of the Boston Marathon suspects is dead and the other is on murderous rampage: It is very important that the remaining suspect be taken alive.
The New York Times has identified the two suspects … Read more »
The Attorney General’s statement is posted here.
We appreciate Jack’s quick and comprehensive clarification of his views—and of what the CGWW proposal we critiqued last night seeks to achieve. Like Jack, we want to start by emphasizing the many areas of agreement between us and CGWW … Read more »
Within hours of Friday’s suicide bombing, which killed one Turkish security guard, Turkish authorities had blamed the attack on a Turkish leftist group known as the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP/C), an illegal Marxist organization established in the 1970s. … Read more »
Ever caught a U.S. citizen you suspected of terrorism, and not known what to do with him? We have an app for you. Sorry, you can’t yet download it for your iPhone—yet—but our Disposition Matrix App is now live … Read more »
I was struck by this report of a recent oral argument in the 2nd Circuit involving a terrorism prosecution. The defendant (and his co-conspirators) were convicted of having plotted to blow up a synagogue in New York and sentenced to … Read more »
The following State Department teleconference on Libya took place the other day:
Office of the SpokespersonBackground Conference Call With Senior State Department OfficialsWashington, DCOctober 9, 2012OPERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to
In today’s New York Times is this article by Ben Weiser about some information that has come to light in a memorandum written by District Court Judge Kevin Thomas Duffy this week. Weiser writes:
Federal officials had to be intrigued
This is a big deal.
The district court (in the person of Judge Edward Lodge of the District of Idaho) has entered partial summary judgment for the plaintiffs in Al-Kidd v. Ashcroft. That’s the statutory and constitutional tort action against … Read more »
Cambridge University Press has made this cache of terrorism articles from its international relations journals available for free–until October 6. Check ‘em out.
Jonathan Witmer-Rich sends in the following commentary on the Amawi case, which I posted yesterday:
Just wanted to offer a bit of commentary on U.S. v. Amawi, which you flagged on the Lawfare blog . . . . I
So we learn from this filing, posted over at the Blog of the Legal Times.
The Treasury Department had found the plaintiff, a Saudi businessman, to be a “specially designated global terrorist.” On the basis of that designation, the Department … Read more »
The New York Times has just published a story in which it quotes an unnamed “senior American official” who confirms Israel’s assertions that the Bulgaria bombing was carried out by a Hezbollah cell operating in Bulgaria:
The official said the
Earlier today, numerous Israeli English-language media outlets (Times of Israel, Haaretz) picked up Bulgarian news stories that identified the Bulgarian suicide bomber as Mehdi Ghezali, a 33-year old Swede who was held at Guantanamo Bay from 2002 … Read more »
Apropos of Steve’s fascinating post (and essay) concerning judicial reluctance to permit civil suits to go forward in national security related cases: new developments in connection with the al-Kidd litigation.
Faced with summary judgment motions from al-Kidd, the US … Read more »
[Update: Ben Weiser’s coverage in the Times points out that real benefit of the plea for Ahmed of course was to avoid the firearms charge, which entailed a thirty year minimum. Ben also confirms that Judge Castel had not yet … Read more »
Tahawwur Hussain Rana was convicted of providing support to Lashkar e-Taiba (18 USC 2339B) and conspiring to provide support to a group planning to commit murder in Denmark, but was acquitted of conspiring to support the Mumbai terrorist attack of … Read more »
An important story from Ben Weiser at the New York Times, from this morning, describes an interesting new development in the prosecution of Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed–a case that receives little attention, but is in fact quite important. Ahmed is an … Read more »
As I noted on Tuesday, Adis Medunjanin was convicted this week in connection with the NYC subway bombing plot. Previously, he had moved to suppress inculpatory statements he’d made after his arrest, and the judge has now issued an opinion … Read more »
The 28-page opinion in United States v. Stone, (E.D. Mich. Mar. 27, 2012), is posted here.
As readers may recall, the government alleged that the defendants plotted to kill a local policeman in hopes of attracting a large crowd … Read more »
In most years when I teach my seminar on the history of terrorism and US counterterrorism law and policy, the question arises why terrorists do not more frequently embrace the “Beltway Sniper” model–i.e., one or a few persons engaging in … Read more »
The complaint against Amine El Khalifi is posted here. What follows is the description from DOJ’s press release:
Jamshid Muhtorov is under arrest, facing material support charges predicated on the claim that he swore allegiance to an Uzbekistan group known as the Islamic Jihad Union, and that he attempted to travel abroad to join them. The complaint and … Read more »
United States v. Mahamud (D. Minn.) is a case involving the prosecution of a man linked to al Shabaab (on charges go conspiring to provide and actually providing material support to that group). On Wednesday, Chief Judge Davis issued a … Read more »
A jury has returned a guilty verdict against Tarek Mehanna, in a case that raises questions about the scope of criminal liability for online activities promoting violence. The case raises very interesting First Amendment issues, which I discuss briefly here… Read more »
The New York Times’s Scott Shane this morning has a very beautifully reported feature story about domestic prisons, law enforcement, and terrorism cases. It is a rich read, including some fascinating correspondence and interviews with current and former prisoners at … Read more »
First things first: Welcome aboard, Steve! Now, to business:
This afternoon, the National Security Council the “Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States” (henceforth to be known as the SIP-ELP-PVEUS, … Read more »
As readers no doubt are aware, the NYPD has arrested Jose Pimentel on an array of terrorism-related charges. The case is distinctive in that it is not a federal prosecution, which is occasioning some commentary. In any event…the criminal complaint … Read more »
Dramatic news out of Atlanta yesterday, as federal prosecutors announced the arrest of members of a “fringe militia group” charged with conspiring to carry out an array of terrorist attacks on government officials and the public–including the potential use of … Read more »
This is a pretty remarkable development. Authorities have arrested a dual US-Iranian citizen on charges that he conspired with a senior official of Iran’s Qods Force (of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the … Read more »
The case is United States v. Ferdaus, and the complaint and underlying affidavit for the arrest are attached here and here. In brief, the case involves a US citizen who thought he was working with members of al … Read more »
Interesting Charlie Savage story this morning about a newly released FBI document detailing rules for inclusion of terrorist suspects on watch lists. Of particular interest to Savage is the fact that those acquitted of crimes can still be included.
That’s what Dylan Boyd pled to today. It’s quite a mouthful, but if you go through it slowly it does actually prove coherent–though also good fodder for a criminal law exam…. In any event, from the press release:
RALEIGH, N.C.
Marty Lederman has a terrific post exploring in more detail the First Amendment issues raised by the Begolly indictment. It’s a must-read if you are interested in the prospects for prosecuting those who advocate terrorism in a generalized manner or … Read more »
An important and interesting indictment issued today (see here for the pdf), in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Emerson Begolly, an American citizen from Pennsyvlania (who already was under arrest after he assaulted FBI agents who were attempting to interview … Read more »
Columbia law professor Trevor Morrison sent the following email over the weekend concerning one of my posts on the Senate NDAA language. In essence, Trevor suggests that I am over-reading the provision, and he homes in on the effective date … Read more »
The Senate’s NDAA language on detainee matters, about which I have previously written here and here, is now available. I have two additional thoughts on the Senate language–the first of which I will lay out in this post. It … Read more »
Many a state enacted its own set of terrorism-related criminal laws in the aftermath of 9/11. These laws have largely gone unused, as most cases that might otherwise fall within their scope have been dealt with by federal prosecutors. But … Read more »
As Scott Shane reported in today’s New York Times, the panel of independent psychiatric experts who reviewed the behavioral health history of Dr. Bruce E. Ivins–the person believed to be responsible for the 2001 anthrax attacks–just released a redacted, public … Read more »
* United States v. Aldawsari (N.D. Tex. Feb. 24, 2011)
Authorities have arrested a Saudi national near Lubbock, Texas, charging him with plotting to carry about bombings with IEDs. The complaint underlying the arrest is here.
This could be … Read more »
Well, this no doubt will contribute the burgeoning conversation about the pros and cons of sting operations. The criminal complaint is here. From the press release:
BALTIMORE – Antonio Martinez, aka Muhammad Hussain, age 21, of Baltimore, a U.S.
Friday, May 17, 2013
The Department of Justice’s Inspector General released an interim report on the Department’s handling of “known or suspected” terrorists who have entered the government’s witness protection program. The report found, among other things, that information on some program participants had not been turned over to no-fly list authorities; and, that two such people could not be located—though one… Read more »
