A man of good humor
Umer Hayat walked out of court a free man on Friday. Here's how Dan Eggen and Evelyn Nieves, law enforcement press release rewriters at the WaPo fielded it, in the Thursday, June 9, 2005 edition, Page A02 (original source).
FBI agents have arrested a Pakistani American and his father in a California farming town after the son allegedly acknowledged that he attended an al Qaeda-run training camp in Pakistan and volunteered to carry out attacks on U.S. supermarkets and hospitals, officials said yesterday.
Two Muslim clerics from the area have also been detained on immigration charges in connection with the case. Federal and local terrorism investigators are trying to determine whether the four men are part of a broader network of al Qaeda supporters in the San Joaquin Valley, an agricultural area south of Sacramento, officials said.
If the allegations contained in court documents are accurate, the case provides a rare look at the unraveling of a potential terrorist plot on American soil. The case also illustrates the challenges posed by Pakistan, a key ally in the war on terrorism even as it continues to serve as a breeding ground for Islamic militants.
Hamid Hayat, 23, and his father, Umer Hayat, 45, an ice cream truck driver from Lodi, Calif., were arrested late Sunday and are being held on charges of making false statements to the FBI, officials said yesterday. Immigration officials said they had arrested two Lodi imams, Mohammed Adil Khan and Shabbir Ahmed.
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A broader network of al Qaeda supporters in the San Joaquin Valley. It can't get any more surreal that that.
Father and son were charged with violation of 18 USC 1001, making false statements of material fact while in the custody of the FBI.
Special Agent Pedro Tenoch Aguilar probably won't be prosecuted for perjury, or for bad judgement for paying $250,000 to an informant to "develop a case" against a guy who drives an ice cream truck, who's son went to visit the old country after finishing high school in Lodi, but if law enforcement actually ment something in this case, he would be doing meth detail in Rapid City Monday.
Umer Hayat entered a plea for misstating currency or monetary instruments in excess of $10,000 or more to a CBP Officer ($28,000) some years previously, and was sentanced to time served.
"They hurt us. We lost everything. For nothing."
Hamid Hayat has remained in custody on no bail since his arrest 14 months ago. He was physically incarcerated for 333 days, and under house arrest with an ankle bracelet transmitter since May 2nd. His son was convicted on the same evidence, and is seeking a re-trial.
Update: Two more residents of Lodi, Mohammad Ismail, a 45-year-old naturalised citizen born in Pakistan, and his 18-year-old son Jaber Ismail, who was born in the United States, who have not been charged with any crime, are now barred from returning to the United States. They are the uncle and cousin, respectively of Hamid Hayat, convicted on Special Agent Pedro Tenoch Aguilar's evidence of supporting terrorists by attending a Pakistani training camp.