McHenry County Blog

When Federal Magistrate Daniel Martin gave Aurora teenager Abdella Ahmad Tounisi a get-out-of-jail card, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago strongly objected.

Today U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang reversed Martin’s decision.

Below you can read the argument made successfully to a Federal Judge today. It resulted in Tounisi’s remaining in the Federal lockup.

I. The Section 3142(g) Factors Weigh in Favor of Detention

A. Nature and Circumstances of the Offense Charged

Two weeks ago, the defendant attempted to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, with the intention of traveling to Syria and joining an Al Qaedasponsored terrorist organization known as Jabhat al-Nusrah. [FN2] The defendant’s attempt join this terrorist group was the culmination of months of planning, much of which the defendant’s family, including the third-party custodian, knew about. As described below, the defendant persisted in his plans despite all efforts by his parents, other relatives, and religious leaders to dissuade him from traveling overseas to engage in violent jihad.
= = = = =
FN2 Jabhat al-Nusrah is a jihadist militant group operating inside Syria. On or about December 11, 2012, the United States Department of State amended the Foreign Terrorist Organization and Executive Order 13224 designations of al-Qaida in Iraq
(AQI) to include the following aliases: Jabhat al-Nusrah, al-Nusrah Front, Jabhet al-Nusra, The Victory Front, and Al-Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant. The Department of State previously designated AQI a Foreign Terrorist Organization
under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act on or about December 15, 2004.
= = = = =

In the months leading up to the defendant’s attempt to leave the country, the defendant performed extensive online research related to martyrdom and violent jihad, such as searches for:

• 1/19/2013: “shaykh sulayman ibn nasir al’ulwan [FN3] verdict
  permissibility martyrdom operations”;
• 1/24/2013: “shahada [FN4] before death”;
• 1/24/2013: “shaheed [FN5] before he dies”;
• 2/14/2013: “ayman al Zawahiri”[FN6]; and
• 3/26/2013: “martyrdom operations.”

= = = = =
FBN3 Sulayman ibn Nasir Al’ulwan is an Islamic scholar from the early fifteenth century who offered a defense of martyrdom operations.

FN4 “Shahada” is an Arabic word that, in this context, appears to refer to martyrdom.

FN5 “Shaheed” is an Arabic word that means martyr.

FN6 Ayman al-Zawahiri is the current leader of al-Qaeda.
= = = = =
The defendant’s plans for martyrdom centered on the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusrah, a group that has pledged allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri and Al Qaeda. According to a release issued by the Department of State on December 11, 2012, since November 2011, this designated terrorist organization has claimed nearly 600 terrorist attacks – ranging from more than 40 suicide attacks to small arms and improvised explosive device operations – in major city centers in Syria, leading to the death of “numerous innocent Syrians.”

The defendant was well aware of Jabhat al-Nusrah’s violent exploits and its affiliation with Al Qaeda. He spent countless hours watching videos of Jabhat al-Nusrah suicide bombings and poured over articles about the group’s ties to Al Qaeda (and even articles about its designation by the United States State Department).

As the defendant immersed himself in media and other propaganda relating to Jabhat al-Nusrah, he resolved to leave behind his life in Americaand join the group.

To get to Syria, he decided to fly from Chicago to Istanbul,Turkey, and then travel from Istanbul to Gaziantep, Turkey, a city that lies near the border of Turkey and Syria.

Importantly, the defendant’s plans to leave for Syria were no mystery to the proposed third-party custodian, the defendant’s father.

In a phone call from January 5, 2013, the defendant’s father told the defendant’s mother, “Ah . . . your son is thinking of going to Syria,” and asked, “Did you take the passport from him?” [FN7]

The defendant’s mother replied, “Yes . . . I took it.”

The family was also aware of the defendant’s fixation on engaging in a suicide operation.

On January 29, 2013, the defendant’s mother spoke to a relative about “not surrendering to [the defendant’s] wishes.”

The relative remarked that she warned the defendant, ‘“If you go, do not think you will die a martyr, you will die like a road kill.’’’

= = = = =
FN7 At the May 2, 2013 detention hearing, the government provided to the judge and counsel a binder with excerpts of certain recorded phone calls. The government will deliver a copy of this binder to the Court before the hearing tomorrow.
= = = = =

Yet seizing the defendant’s passport and urging him not to kill himself in battle did nothing to stop him. On March 1, 2013, the defendant applied for and obtained a P.O. Box in Aurora, Illinois. On that same day, he submitted a signed application for an expedited United States passport, claiming that he sought to travel to Jordan for 10-20 days on June 15, 2013.

The defendant also submitted a signed “Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen Passport” in which the defendant claimed his previous passport had been lost, when in fact it had been taken by his parents. The defendant directed that the passport be sent to his new P.O. Box.

On March 28, 2013, while performing a search for Jabhat al-Nusrah propaganda, the defendant visited English and Arabic versions of a website that purported to recruit individuals to travel to Syria and join Jabhat al-Nusrah (it was in fact maintained by the FBI).

The top portion of the webpage stated, “A Call for Jihad in Syria,” and depicted a photograph of an armed fighter. The website also included a purported Jabhat al-Nusrah training video, which the defendant viewed. That video depicted individualswearing masks and fatigues, and engaging in training, such as running with firearms. The website stated, “come and join your lion brothers of Jabhat Al-Nusra who are fighting under the true banner of Islam, come and join your brothers, the heroes of Jabhat Al-Nusra.”

The defendant reached out to the website’s purported recruiter, who infact was an FBI online undercover employee (“the OCE”).

The defendant and the OCE exchanged several emails, during which the defendant told the OCE that he planned to leave for Syria by traveling to Istanbul, Turkey, and then from Istanbul to Gaziantep, a Turkish city that lies near the border of Turkey and Syria.

The defendant told the OCE that “if the opportunity is given to me to attain shahada [martyrdom] I will take it.”

On April 10, 2013, despite having no employment or earnings, the defendant managed to buy an airline ticket for an April 19, 2013 flight from Chicago to Istanbul, which the defendant related to the OCE.

At least by April 15, the defendant’s family learned of the ticket. The defendant’s mother asked the defendant over the phone whether he had “return[ed] that damn thing; the ticket.”

The defendant expressed concern that his mother was “saying that over the telephone,” which led the defendant and his mother to begin speaking in code about the airline ticket, calling it a “movie ticket.”

The defendant’s mother demanded that the defendant “take it back.”

A few days later, the defendant’s mother talked to another family member about trying to convince the defendant to “return the ticket.”

Their attempts to stop the defendant proved futile, just like all of the previous attempts for the past six months.

On April 18, 2013, the defendant received from the OCE a bus ticket from Istanbul to Gaziantep, where the defendant was to meet with “brothers”from Jabhat al-Nusrah who would take the defendant to a training camp.

The next day, the defendant sent the OCE an email, describing what he would be wearing upon his arrival in Istanbul. The defendant noted that if failed to make it to Gaziantep, it would be because he was “arrested in the US or in Turkey.”

On the evening of April 19, 2013, the defendant went to O’Hare International Airport in an attempt to travel to Istanbul, intending to join Jabhat al-Nusrah.

At the airport, after proceeding through airport security and sitting down at his gate, the defendant was questioned by CBP officers, who asked the defendant about his travel.

The defendant told CBP officers that he was traveling to Turkey for three and a half days to “sightsee” and did not plan to visit any other countries.

When confronted about the bus ticket to Gaziantep, which the defendant had in his carry-on luggage, the defendant claimed he simply planned to tour that city as well.

Soon after the interview, the defendant was arrested.

B. Weight of the Evidence Against the Defendant

The evidence against the defendant is compelling.

As laid out in the criminal complaint affidavit, the FBI’s investigation was extensive and involved a variety of surveillance techniques.

Not only were the defendant’s plans captured through online and physical surveillance, all of his communications with the FBI undercover employee were recorded.

The web of lies the defendant spun to obtain a new passport and avoid scrutiny from CBP officers further reveals his guilty conscience, as does his final communication to the OCE – that if he did not arrive in Gaziantep, it would be because he was arrested.

The electronic surveillance, coupled with evidence that other witnesses (including family members) knew about the defendant’s plan, makes this a strong case.

C. History and Characteristics of the Defendant

The defendant is an eighteen year old United States citizen who resided (intermittently) with his parents in Aurora.

Although the defendant has no criminal history, his recent arrest hardly counts as his first encounter with law enforcement.

The defendant was a close friend of an individual named Adel Daoud, who on September 14, 2012, was arrested for attempting to detonate a bomb outside a bar in downtown Chicago. See United States v. Daoud, 12 CR 723.

As described in the affidavit, the defendant and Daoud shared an interest in violent jihad, a topic about which the two exchanged a number of emails, phone calls, and text messages.

In July 2012, Daoud was introduced to a purported operational terrorist, but who in fact was an FBI undercover agent. Daoud met with the undercover agent on several occasions, during the course of which he selected, researched, and surveilled a target for a terrorist attack to be carried out in the Chicago area.

In August 2012, Daoud shared his plans for a terrorist attack with the defendant and sought the defendant’s assistance.

The defendant recommended certain attack techniques, offered ideas about targeting, and researched those locations online to analyze their feasibility.

Ultimately, however, in mid-August 2012, the defendant decided against participating in the attack, in part because he believed the undercover agent was associated with law enforcement.

As Daoud explained to the undercover agent, the defendant sought instead to travel overseas to engage in violent jihad (and even pinpointed the date as April 2013).

Daoud opted to carry out the attack without the defendant, which led to his arrest on September 14, 2012,

Hours after Daoud’s arrest, the defendant was interviewed by FBI agents at his home in the presence of his parents. During the interview, the defendant initially claimed he barely knew Daoud and that he knew nothing
of Daoud’s plans.

After FBI agents stressed the importance of telling the truth, the defendant eventually acknowledged that he had discussed with Daoud the topic of bombing concerts and nightclubs in August 2012.

The defendant told FBI agents that during Ramadan he and Daoud searched for concerts and nightclubs, locations which the defendant understood to be targets of a bombing attack.

The defendant said he recommended as a target a particular nightclub in Naperville, Illinois.

The defendant told FBI agents that he eventually concluded that the person whom Daoud believed to be a terrorist was in fact a “spy,” meaning an FBI informant.

The defendant said that he had changed his mind about placing a bomb outside a nightclub after a religious leader told him it was wrong, though the defendant said he knew that Daoud was still planning to commit a bombing attack.

Finally, the defendant admitted that he contemplated traveling to Yemen to engage in jihad.

The defendant’s involvement in a plot to detonate a bomb in Chicago reveals much about his worldview.

But perhaps even more revealing is the fact that none of this deterred the defendant from attempting to travel overseas to join a terrorist group.

If ever the defendant experienced a wakeup call, surely it would be when his good friend was arrested on terrorism charges for a crime the defendant helped plan.

What is more, the September 14, 2012 interview made plain to the defendant (and his parents) that the FBI was aware of the defendant’s conduct and interest in violent jihad.

That the defendant continued to pursue this path in the face of the FBI’s scrutiny speaks volumes about his history and characteristics.

Neither the defendant’s parents nor the FBI was able to shake the defendant from the path that led to his arrest in this case.

D. Nature and Seriousness of the Defendant’s Danger to the Community

The defendant did not simply want to offer himself as a soldier to fight in the ranks of a terrorist militia, he wanted to die killing others, a desire he revealed not only to the purported terrorist recruiter but also to his parents.

The congressional presumption of dangerousness assigned to those who wish to engage in terrorist offenses certainly applies here.

The defendant presents a danger to the community (a term that includes the worldwide community, see United States v. Hir, 517 F.3d 1081 (9th Cir. 2008)), if only because he withstood prolonged efforts by others to dissuade him from engaging in violent jihad.

The defendant’s parents (including the proposed third-party custody) knew about his desire to die a martyr in Syria and tried repeatedly to intervene, all to no avail.

Nor were other members of the defendant’s community able to convince him that traveling overseas for violent jihad was wrong. These facts only reinforce the presumption of dangerousness.

II. The Defendant Fails to Rebut the Presumption Favoring Detention

The defendant has failed to provide evidence to overcome section 3142(e)’s presumption of dangerousness and risk of flight. As the Seventh Circuit explained in Dominguez, the presumption in section 3142 represents a congressional finding that certain groups of offenders “are likely to continue to engage in criminal conduct undeterred either by the pendency of charges against them or by the imposition of monetary bond or other release conditions.” See Dominguez, 783 F.2d at 707.

A defendant so-charged must therefore produce some evidence of their individual circumstances or characteristics to show that “what might be true in general, is not true in their particular case.” Id. (quoting United States v. Jessup, 757 F.2d 378, 384 (1st Cir. 1985).

At the detention hearing, the magistrate judge put undue weight on the recommendation of the pretrial services officer that the defendant be released. That recommendation fails to account for the presumption in this case and the evidence laid out in the affidavit (and at the detention hearing).

In other words, the defendant’s involvement in a plot to carry out a terrorist attack and his ability to obtain another passport, purchase a flight, and make it to O’Hare were not factored into the calculus of the pretrial services officer and, in turn, the magistrate judge.

Even a lack of criminal history should carry less force when dealing with a person caught attempting to join a foreign terrorist organization and carry out a martyrdom operation. Unlike other crimes, such as drug offenses, the charged offense typically is the sort that may only be committed once.

Given his track record, the assurance of the defendant’s father to call pretrial services if the defendant were to escape should ring hollow, particularly since he knew about his son’s interest in violent jihad at least since September 2012 and was unable (or unwilling) to stop his own son from attempting to fly overseas and die a martyr. This defendant harbors an unusually firm commitment, one that has led him to reject all others in his life and overcome all of the logistical and financial obstacles that stood between him and the terrorist organization he so desperately wanted to join.

Given the defendant’s unwavering commitment to join a designated terrorist organization and engage in violent jihad, and the failure of his family (and the third-party custodian) to stop him from doing so, the conditions imposed by the magistrate judge are insufficient to protect the community and ensure the defendant’s appearance at court.

Just asking.

One big difference is that we can’t build a fence to keep bombers out.

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

TAHAWWUR RANA SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS IN PRISON FOR SUPPORTING PAKISTANI TERROR GROUP AND TERROR PLOT IN DENMARK

CHICAGO — A Pakistani native who operated a Chicago-based immigration business was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist plot in Denmark and providing material support to Lashkar e Tayyiba, a terrorist organization operating in Pakistan that was responsible for the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India. The defendant, TAHAWWUR HUSSAIN RANA, was convicted of the charges on June 9, 2011, following a three-week trial in U.S. District Court.

Rana, 52, a Canadian citizen, was ordered to serve 14 years, followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber.

“This certainly was a dastardly plot,” Judge Leinenweber said in imposing the sentence.

Rana was convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to a plot from October 2008 to October 2009 to commit murder in Denmark, including a horrific plan to behead employees of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper, and throw their heads on to the street in Copenhagen, as well as providing material support, from late 2005 to October 2009, to Lashkar, a militant jihadist organization operating in Pakistan.

Lashkar planned and carried out the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 160 people, including six Americans, before initially planning the terrorist attack in Denmark in retaliation for the newspaper’s publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

Rana was acquitted of conspiracy to provide material support to the Mumbai attacks.

“This serious prison sentence should go a long way towards convincing would-be terrorists that they can’t hide behind the scenes, lend support to the violent aims of terrorist organizations, and escape detection and punishment,” said Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

“Today’s sentence demonstrates that, just as vigorously as we pursue terrorists and their organizations, we will also pursue those who facilitate their violent plots from a safe distance. As established at trial, Tahawwur Rana provided critical support to David Headley and other terrorists from his base in the United States, knowing they were plotting attacks overseas. I thank the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who helped bring about today’s result,” said Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

“It is my hope that the judge’s decision today sends a message to those who plot attacks and those who provide the support to make the plots possible, both here and abroad, that you will be held accountable for your actions. Our mission, detecting and preventing terrorist acts and eliminating the enabling support provided by terrorist sympathizers, remains our top priority,” said Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Rana is one of two defendants to be convicted, among a total of eight defendants who have been indicted, in this case since late 2009.

Co-defendant David Coleman Headley, 52, pleaded guilty in March 2010 to 12 terrorism charges, including aiding and abetting the murders of the six Americans in Mumbai. Headley, who is scheduled to be sentenced next Thursday, has cooperated with the Government since he was arrested in October 2009, and testified as a Government witness at Rana’s trial. He is facing a maximum of life in prison

The evidence at Rana’s trial showed that he knew he was assisting a terrorist organization and murderers, knew their violent goals, and readily agreed to play an essential role in achieving their aims.

The government contended that Rana knew the objective of his co-conspirators was to retaliate against and influence the Danish government for its perceived role in the publication of the Prophet Mohammed cartoons, and he knew that the goal of Lashkar was to retaliate against and influence the Indian and Danish governments and intended that the support he provided – enabling Headley’s activities – would be used toward that purpose.

In a post-arrest statement in October 2009, Rana admitted knowing that Lashkar was a terrorist organization and that Headley had attended training camps that Lashkar operated in Pakistan.

Headley testified that he attended the training camps on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2005.

In late 2005, Headley received instructions from members of Lashkar to travel to India to conduct surveillance, which he did five times leading up to the Mumbai attacks three years later that killed more than 160 people and wounded hundreds more.

In the early summer of 2006, Headley and two Lashkar members discussed opening an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities.

Headley testified that he traveled to Chicago and advised Rana, his long-time friend since the time they attended high school together in Pakistan, of his assignment to scout potential targets in India.

Headley obtained approval from Rana, who owned First World Immigration Services in Chicago and elsewhere, to open a First World office in Mumbai as cover for his activities.

Rana directed an individual associated with First World to prepare documents supporting Headley’s cover story, and advised Headley how to obtain a visa for travel to India, according to Headley’s testimony, as well as emails and other documents that corroborated his account.

Between Nov. 26-28, 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, some of which Headley had scouted in advance.

Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley testified that in the fall of 2008, he met with a Lashkar member in Karachi, Pakistan, and was instructed to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus.

In late 2008 and early 2009, after reviewing with Rana how he had performed surveillance of the targets attacked in Mumbai, Headley testified that he advised Rana of the planned attack in Denmark and his intended travel there to conduct surveillance of the newspaper’s facilities.

Headley obtained Rana’s approval and assistance to identify himself as a representative of First World and gain access to the newspaper’s offices by falsely expressing interest in placing advertising for First World in the newspaper.

Headley and Rana caused business cards to be made that identified Headley as a representative of the Immigration Law Center, the business name of First World, according to the evidence at trial.

The trial evidence also included transcripts of recorded conversations, including those in September 2009, when Headley and Rana spoke about reports that a co-defendant, Ilyas Kashmiri, an alleged Pakistani terrorist leader, had been killed and the implications of his possible death for the plan to attack the newspaper.

In other conversations, Rana told Headley that the attackers involved in the Mumbai attacks should receive Pakistan’s highest posthumous military honors.

In the late summer of 2009, Rana and Headley agreed that funds that had been provided to Rana could be used to fund Headley’s work in Denmark, and the evidence showed that Rana, pretended to be Headley in sending an email to the Danish newspaper.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Sarah E. Streicker, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have worked on a broader investigation of the Mumbai attacks. The investigation has been conducted by the Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force, led by the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from FBI offices in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., as well as both U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

It’s a good thing I subscribe to both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Tribune.

Take a look at the front page of the Sun-Times:

Now, if I had only subscribed to the Tribune, here’s all I would have seen on the front page:

The Sun-Times also devotes pages 2 & 3 to the jihadist plot.

The Sun-Times put four reporters on the story, Natasha Kore4cki (who graduated from Jacobs High School in Algonquin), Lisa Donovan, Michael Sneed and Matt Hanley.

Clearly, some editor thought this was an important story.

Interviews with family members of Adel Daoud resulted in expressions of disbelief.

But consider this statement by the teen contained in the affidavit o FBI Special Agent Barbara J. Harner:

“[T]hey have to know it’s a terrorist attack.

“Because if the people just say oh, how like, like the thing that just happened, the, the, the Joker thing okay . . . [The FBI Agent suggested this was a reference to the mass murders at the Aurora movie theater playing the latest Batman movie.]

Oh, the person was crazy.

“Oh, that’s so sad . . .

“That’s it, okay, they forget about it after a week . . .

“You know what I mean?

“And, and if he could get away that’s good.

“Because they’ll think oh, terrorism . . . it’ll be like frantic.”

No where in any headline above the Tribune’s story on page 4 is there an indication that an Islamist-motivated jihadist was involved.

While the eventual target was in Chicago, a two-hour meeting took place in Villa Park on July 17, 2012, and again on August 6th, this time at Prairie Path Park.

The FBI Agent’s affidavit said Daoud gave him a list of”approximately twenty-nine potential targets and/or addresses, which Daoud provided to the UCE. The targets included military recruiting centers, bars, malls, and other tourist attractions in and around the Chicago area.”

His intention was to cause Americans to become afraid in ordinary places.

He talked about ordinary folks like this:

“[Y]ou can’t really take these people as regular people.

“They’re like, more like robots.”

How I wish the guy from Skokie who wrote “The Chicago Journalism Review” was still around. The Chicago Tribune’s coverage of this story surely demonstrates that a watchdog is needed.

A press release from Congressman Joe Walsh, a member of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee:

Congressman Joe Walsh Reacts to Attempted Islamic Terror Attack in Chicago

Saturday, prosecutors announced a terror suspect from Hillside, IL was arrested late Friday in Chicago.

The suspected left Villa Park with an undercover agent and fake explosives and attempted to detonate a bomb outside a bar in downtown Chicago.

A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office stated the suspect

“expressed an interest in engaging in violent jihad, in either the United States or overseas.”

Congressman Walsh reacted in a statement,

Joe Walsh

“Fortunately, due to the great work of the FBI and law enforcement, a threat against Illinoisans and America was thwarted.

“We owe our law enforcement officers a debt of gratitude for their efforts and vigilance.

“As a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, I have spoken about this threat, and this event is an alarming reminder on the threat of homegrown terror.

“However, my opponent, Tammy Duckworth continues to condemn my remarks for political gain at the expense of national security.”

“This is not a political issue,” Walsh continued.

“The issue of homegrown terror is an issue that Attorney General Eric Holder says keeps him up at night.

“I find it ironic that during the same time this attempted attack took place, Ms. Duckworth was trying to score political points during our joint appearance by criticizing my concerns about this very real threat.

“I challenge Ms. Duckworth to instead join me in urging our government to do more in addressing this issue and spend less time worrying about political correctness.”

Walsh concluded, “It’s my hope Ms. Duckworth will stop shamelessly exploiting my efforts to draw attention to this issue.

“We must continue to remember the vast majority of Muslims are a patriotic, peace-loving people.

“As a member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I vow to pursue and expose this radical strain of Islam.

“This issue is far too vital to our country to allow political correctness to prevent us from addressing this threat.”

A press release from Congressman Don Manzullo:

Manzullo Statement on Attacks in Libya and Egypt

[WASHINGTON] – U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and member of the Subcommittee on Middle East, issued the following statement in response to the attacks against the United States in Libya and Egypt:

“Yesterday’s brutal murder of four American diplomats, including the United States Ambassador to Libya, and the attack against the United States Embassy in Egypt, are stark reminders that the U.S. remains a significant target throughout the world. We must honor the memory and service of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and his colleagues by making it absolutely clear that our nation will not tolerate violence against our people. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families.

“The United States must not apologize or otherwise seek to appease those who desperately want to do us harm. When America does not speak clearly about its values and intentions, then the rest of the world is left to wonder whether we have the resolve to defend what is valuable to us. America stands on the principles of democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights. There is no excuse, no justification for what happened in Libya and Egypt.”

A press release from Congressman Randy Hultgren:

Hultgren Condemns Libya Attack

WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Representative Randy Hultgren (IL-14) today released the following statement regarding the attack at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya:

“Today I join President Obama, Governor Romney, and all Americans in condemning this violence. It is tragic that this crime was apparently carried out in the name of religion.

“In the days ahead, I hope America will respond with discernment and swift justice for those who have killed our own.

“Today, we will mourn with the four American families who have lost their loved ones.”

A press release from Congressman Joe Walsh:

Rep. Walsh Defends Comments about Radical Muslims

“We cannot let political correctness blind us to reality.”

WASHINGTON- Today, Rep. Joe Walsh (IL-08) defended comments made at Elk Grove Village on Wednesday evening concerning the danger radical Muslims pose to American families.

“The threat that radical Islam poses to American families and our way of life is not anything new.

“It is a real threat.

“The Committee on Homeland Security, of which I am a member, has held five hearings that examined the threat of Muslim radicalization, especially radicalization within the Muslim-American community.

“Members of the Committee are not alone in this—even Attorney General Holder and Janet Napolitano of the Obama Administration have warned about the dangers of radical Islam.”

“We cannot let political correctness blind us to reality.

“While most Muslims in America and around the world are as peace loving as the rest of us, we would be foolish to ignore the fact that there is a radical minority that simply wants to destroy America and the values that we stand for.

“A recent Pew Poll said that 15% of Muslim-American men between the age of 18 and 29 could support suicide bombings.

“How people can dismiss things like that, I don’t understand, but I won’t.

“It is our responsibility as Members of Congress to protect American families.”

A press release from the Lake County Tea Party:

Lake County Tea Party Condemns New York Times for Column

Tea Party NOT Terrorists

(Round Lake, IL – August 2, 2011) Lake County Tea Party takes strong issue with today’s column in the New York Times, “Tea Party’s War on America.” Columnist Joe Nocera characterizes the Tea Party as “terrorists” who have “waged jihad,” who wear “suicide vests” and who have “gleeful willingness to destroy America’s full faith and credit.”

Lake County Tea party member Bonnie Quirke noted,

“Last winter when Congresswoman Gabriella Gifford was shot, there were widespread accusations in the media blaming conservatives such as Sarah Palin for the attack. President Obama soon urged that politics in America adopt a more civil tone. Where’s the civil tone now?”

Contrary to the statements in the New York Times, Lake County Tea Party is committed to educating voters on the virtues of fiscally responsible government at all levels. The organization is also committed to a free market economic system to restore jobs and prosperity to communities. Lake County Tea Party has also been working to fight corruption and felonious activity at all levels of government.

Lake County Tea Party chairman Lennie Jarratt welcomes all area residents to contact the Tea Party if they have questions about the organization’s activities or positions on issues. Please call the Lake County Tea Party at (847) 302-3985.

About Lake County Tea Party

Established in 2009 and headquartered in Round Lake, Lake County Tea Party is a grassroots organization working to restore fiscal sanity to all levels of government and to support the U.S. Constitution.

The following press below just arrived from Justice Department. In the accompanying of FBI Special Agent Robert C. Parker, he says a “Cooperating Source” asked Shaker Masri “if he wanted to travel to a conflict zone to engage in jihadist fighting, to which Masri replied,

‘Absolutely.’”

He further told the cooperating source that he was seeking “a suicide mission” because that was what the “infidels” “hate the most.”

Later the following recorded comment is revealed.

“I will not stay idle,…I wish to know how to the explosive belt is made. I will wear one and I will not take it off.”

On July 31st, the affidavit reports the cooperating source and Marsi were looking at four uniformed soldiers in Chicago. Marsi said that he wished he could walk up to them ans blow himself up.

CHICAGO MAN ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTING TO PROVIDE
MATERIAL SUPPORT TO A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

A 26-year old Chicago man, who authorities believed was planning to travel to Somalia and engage in jihadist fighting with a terrorist group, was arrested last night just hours before he was scheduled to leave Chicago announced Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

SHAKER MASRI, who lived in the Streeterville area of Chicago, was arrested late yesterday in Countryside, Illinois, without incident, by members of the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) following an 18-month investigation.

MASRI was charged in a criminal complaint filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count each of attempting to Provide Material Support to a Designated Terrorist Organization and attempting to provide material support through the use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction, both of which are felony offenses.

According to the complaint, MASRI, who is a U.S. citizen, began espousing his increasingly violent views to an individual he befriended in early 2009.

During the ensuing months, MASRI began to openly express a desire to participate in a “jihad” and to fight against what he characterized as “infidels”.

In the past month, it is alleged that MASRI began to actively plan a trip to Somalia where he hoped to join the specially designated terrorist groups al Qaeda and al Shabaab and commit a suicide attack targeting “infidels”.

He was arrested last night just hours before he was planning to depart Chicago en route to Somalia.

Investigation by the Chicago FBI’s JTTF included the use of undercover operatives and court authorized electronic surveillance of a telephone used by MASRI and resulted in the filing of the charges announced today.

MASRI appeared before Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown in Chicago, earlier this morning, at which time he was formally charged.

MASRI was ordered held without bond pending his next court appearance, which is scheduled for August 9th. Until then, MASRI will be housed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago.

If convicted of the charges filed against him, MASRI faces a possible sentence of up to 15 years incarceration on each count.

This case was investigated by the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) which is comprised of FBI special agents, officers from the Chicago Police Department and representatives from 20 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.