http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=67090 May 6, 2004
Portland Man Linked To Spain Terror Attacks
PORTLAND, ORE. - A Portland man was arrested by FBI agents Thursday as part of the investigation into the deadly train bombings in Spain, federal officials said.
The man, identified by Newsweek as Portland attorney Brandon Mayfield, a convert to Islam, was taken into custody on a material witness warrant, said a senior law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The arrest is the first known in the United States with connections to the March 11 bombings in Madrid that took the lives of nearly 200 people.
The attack was Europe's worst since the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 people.
Since that day, March 11, 2004 has become a day of infamy, which many compared to the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
The FBI also searched the man's home, which he shares with his wife, the official said.
Beth Anne Steele, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Portland, confirmed two search warrants had been served Thursday in Washington County, which includes parts of Portland, but she would not release further details.
Sue Rutledge, of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Portland, said the warrants were served in the cities of Portland and Beaverton.
She could not comment about whether the warrants were connected to the train bombings in Madrid, or whether there had been any arrests.
Material witness warrants, usually kept confidential by a federal judge, are used by the government to hold people suspected of having direct knowledge about a crime or to allow time for further investigation into the witness.
Officials would not provide any further details about the man or his alleged connection with the Madrid bombings, which killed 191 people and injured 2,000 others.
Spanish authorities blame the attack on Islamic extremists, possibly linked to al-Qaida.
Eighteen people have been charged to date in Spain - six charged with mass murder and the others with collaboration or with belonging to a terrorist organization.
(From KATU & AP reports)