Free the Somali six

Minnesota authorities have gone deep in search of taxpayer funds to lavish on Somali immigrants in the name of “outreach.” Someone should probably reach out to the supporters of the local Minnesota based Somalis recently charged with seeking to depart these parts in order to join ISIS, but I wonder if we have a government program in process to help Minnesota taxpayers resolve anger management issues arising from reports like this one, brimming with quotable quotes, courtesy of the local CBS affiliate:

Dozens of local Somali families gathered at the State Capitol Saturday afternoon, calling for the release of six terror suspects.

They’re calling for the government to stop what they see as attacks against them, and say the suspects were set up.

Six local Somalis were charged this [past] week with trying to leave the country to join the terrorist group. These four men were taken into custody in Minneapolis a week ago. Two others were arrested in San Diego.

Federal agents also arrested Mahamed Said for allegedly making threats on Twitter in response to the arrests. One tweet from his account said if the men weren’t freed, there would be a “massacre.” Another message said “Best believe I’m gonna kill for those guys if they don’t free my brothers.”

The leadership and families at Saturday’s rally denounced any retaliation because of the arrests and asked for the public to hold judgment until their sons are found guilty or not guilty.

About 100 people turned out at the State Capitol, including three mothers of four of the men arrested. One of them made remarks saying she doesn’t believe her sons are terrorists.

A Somali community advocate says the community has agreed to peacefully protest the government and the confidential informant prosecutors built much of their case around.

Abdullahi Salim helped lead the protest. He says he’s a friend of all the arrested suspects, and can’t believe they could be involved.

“I grew up here with them,” Salim said. “I was not expecting them to be criticized as terrorists.”

Salim also says the suspects’ character was never in question for him.

“These guys are really, really, really helpful guys,” he said. “Whenever you need help, they’re the first guys you call for help.”

Community organizers say they want to sit down with lawmakers and talk about programs to help Somali youth prosper and not be drawn into recruiting.

Salim updates Ghostbusters. Who ya gonna call? The Somali six!

Below is the companion video of the report above. Viewers may note a slight tension in the two messages here: The Somali six are innocent! Keep the cash coming to fight terrorist recruitment!

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses