Man claiming to be terrorist arrested at Logan

Boston Herald ^ | 10/01/07 | Joe Dwinell & Mike Adaskaveg

[raccoonradio]

An irritable passenger offended by security grilling faces bomb threat charges in court today after reportedly telling Logan Airport security Saturday he was an Al-Qaeda terrorist here to “blow things up.”

Massport officials tell the Herald the 27-year-old man had a ticket on his bag from Dubai of the United Arab Emirates and security began asking him questions.

“He seemed aggravated and said ‘I’m Al-Qaeda and I’m here to blow things up,’ ” said Massport spokesman Phil Orlandella.

Orlandella said the man, Asfaw Ermiyas of Washington, D.C., was taken into custody at the AirTran gate Saturday night at 7:15 p.m.

He is set to be arraigned today in East Boston District Court on a charge of making a bomb threat.

Massport officials say Ermiyas was heading to Baltimore and listed his occupation as self-employed taxi driver.

State police confronted Ermiyas after he appeared to become annoyed with security questions. That’s when he lashed out, officials say.

Airport officials say they are treating the threats seriously, yet they believe his boasts were not a credible.

Massport officials sent a clear message today they won’t tolerate threats.

“This airport is not going to tolerate any outrageous threats of using a bomb or identifying themselves with a terrorist organization,” said Orlandella.

Orlandella praised gate security for not backing down from the suspect’s alleged threatening behavior.

This is the second bomb scare at Logan in the past two weeks. An MIT student, Star Simpson, 19, walked into the airport Sept. 21 with a circuit board strapped to her chest and carrying a glob of Play-Doh. She too was arrested and faces charges.

[raccoonradio]

Logan again. Sit him right next to Star Simpson.

[camle]

stupid is as stupid does. adn stupidity seems to gravitate around MASS.

[Sgt_Schultze]

...had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam...

One of Boston's own?

[Slapshot68]

Star Simpson and this guy should have their flying privileges permanently taken away.

[raccoonradio]

Just co-operate with security, OK folks? I went through
Logan security in June when I flew Jet Blue to Long Beach CA.
They pulled me aside for a moment because there was something amiss with my carry-on. I was calm with them, etc., and we
finally discovered it was a package of chewable Pepto-Bismol
tablets (30 pack) which somehow had alarmed them. Zipped
up my carry on again and we were good to go. I may have
told them I was glad they were doing their job because
my own job is affected by terrorism too: I work for
the postal service (two USPS employees died in
anthrax attacks, and the USPS is doing what it can
to protect us and the public from any such threat).

I was calm and co-operative and I’m glad they do their job.
THIS guy on the other hand...

[ClearCase_guy]

Orlandella praised gate security for not backing down from the suspect’s alleged threatening behavior.

Strikes me as an odd statement.

[Red Badger]

....stupidity seems to gravitate around MASS.

MASS is the black hole of liberalism...........

[Mikey_1962]

Customs:”And the purpose of your visit Sir?”

Answer: “To blow things up.”

Customs: “Anything to declare?”

Answer: “My desire to kill all Infidels.”

Customs: “Have a nice day Sir, don’t forget your road flares and thumb plunger”

[Thrownatbirth]

because there was something amiss with my carry-on.

Found out the hard way: A small box of Fig Newtons looks remarkably like an ammo clip on an airport x-ray screen.

[Paladin2]

As I bend over to remove my shoes and to put them back on, I always make sure I have the correct compass orientation if you know what I mean.

[raccoonradio]

meanwhile via General/Chat (airport rage—missed her
flight?—leads to accidental strangulation)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1904864/posts

The daughter-in-law of one of New York’s top officials screamed, “I’m not a terrorist!” and fought with security officials in the Phoenix airport before being wrestled to the ground and handcuffed, witnesses told the Daily News yesterday.

Carol Anne Gotbaum, 45, of the upper West Side, died less than an hour later, after cops claim she apparently strangled herself while trying to escape from the handcuffs in a holding cell at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

“I’m not a terrorist! I’m a sick mom! I need help!” yelled the mother of three after she missed the 2:58 p.m. US Airways Express flight to Tucson, said airport workers who witnessed the confrontation Friday.

They said one cop put his knee in her back to restrain her while others grabbed her flailing arms.

“I believe she was a little not-there. She kept punching. She kept screaming. She kept kicking,” one worker told The News. “She looked really scared, really frightened. I think she was afraid to go to jail.”

[raccoonradio]

can’t tell if she was enraged because she just arrived too late for her flight, or if she was detained by security officials over something suspicious in her belongings
and thus missed her flight

[shankbear]

Darwin award awaiting after the long stay in prison. His booty will be big enough for a two car garage when he gets out.

[johnny7]

Orlandella praised gate security for not backing down from the suspect’s alleged threatening behavior.

So the norm must be hiding under the counter...

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

He will claim profiling, sue, and cair will help him.

[AppyPappy]

Crazed lunatic woman running around the airport. That’s always a good scene.

[Popocatapetl]

It was better, year ago, when such a public ass would be quickly shipped off to jail or a mental institution for evaluation.

It was a profound deterrent to many such asses that they had better measure their behavior in public.

Polite society only exists when there are quick and sure punishments for the impolite. People with little self control can learn to behave, and people with no self control shouldn’t be out in public in the first place.

[PAR35]

Give the guy a scholarship to MIT. He seems to have the qualification of no common sense.

[raccoonradio]

Ch 7 reports the guy was joking, according to his attorneys. He was joking that he was Al Queda and walked away. Apparently he had been in the Boston area visiting a girlfriend.

WHDH-TV:
A 27-year-old man is facing criminal charges after he allegedly told an airline employee at Logan International Airport that he was a member of al-Qaida and planned to "blow up things."

Ermiyas Asfaw, of Washington, D.C., will be arraigned in East Boston District Court on a charge of making a false communication of an explosive device.

State police say Asfaw was in the process of checking in for a flight Saturday night when he told an AirTran employee that he had explosives.

Logan spokesman Phil Orlandella says Asfaw said, "I'm with al-Qaida. I'm with them and I'm here to blow up things."

The AirTran employee notified state police stationed at the airport. A state police dog checked his luggage, but no explosives or other contraband was found.