Posted on 10/14/2004 6:03:13 AM PDT by Augie
Federal agents seized cars, scores of boxes and more than a dozen computers in what appeared to be a well-planned raid on the Islamic American Relief Agency near Providence and Broadway that began Wednesday afternoon and ended roughly six hours later.
No arrests were made.
FBI Special Agent Jeff Lanza said the raid was part of a long-running, ongoing investigation of the Islamic American Relief Agency. The U.S. Department of Treasury said in a release Wednesday that the name Islamic American Relief Agency is one of the names used by some of the 40 organizations worldwide with links to the Islamic African Relief Agency, which is alleged to have links to Osama bin Laden, Al Qaida and the Taliban. The Treasury Department blocked “all accounts, funds and assets” of the Islamic African Relief Agency and its affiliates in the United States on Wednesday.
The Treasury Department alleged that the overseas branches of the Islamic African Relief Agency provided “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to Bin Laden in 1999. Treasury also believes that as early as 2003, the group was responsible for moving money to the Palestinian territories to support terrorist activities and served “as a conduit to Hamas in one Western European country.”
FBI, IRS criminal investigative division and Joint Terrorism Task Force agents along with state and local police and highway patrol surrounded the organization’s office in a small, nondescript brick building at 201 E. Cherry about 2:30 p.m. At least two vans were searched and towed from the scene while the nearly 30 agents worked inside the building, removing filing cabinets, binders, PCs, a fax machine and sealed paper bags and boxes. One box was marked “posters of Iraq” in black marker.
The documents were seized under a warrant obtained by the FBI and other federal, state, and local agencies under the authority of the Office of Foreign Asset Control.
“The warrant is being executed pursuant to an ongoing federal investigation,” Lanza said. “It’s a federal criminal investigation and the affidavit in support of the warrant is sealed.” Lanza would not say what agents were seeking but would only emphasize the warrant authorized a search, not arrests.
FBI agents were also searching a Columbia home, Lanza said. He wouldn’t elaborate.
Attempts to reach any of the individuals listed as directors on the agency’s 2002 tax form were unsuccessful.
Lorenzo Vidino of the Washington, D.C.-based The Investigative Project, a counter-terrorism research agency, said the Islamic American Relief Agency has been “used by the Sudanese government” to spread radical Islam, and “still is.” The agency also has provided employment and financial support to Somali fundamentalists, he said.
Vidino said members of the agency’s board are involved with other charities whose assets have been frozen, and some are under investigation themselves.
“We’ve been watching this charity for a long time, but we never had a smoking gun,” said Vidino. “I suppose [the government] did.”
Agents moved in and out of the building while police officers from various local, state, and inter-state agencies provided security around the scene Wednesday.
Jeff Westbrook, of the Columbia Police Department, said he arrived at the scene around 2 p.m.
“We’re basically providing security,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on inside.”
Officers with the Federal Air Marshals, the U.S. Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Postal Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were also involved. The Mobile Response Unit of the Columbia Police Department and one other large police vehicle were used as temporary operation bases while police cars closed off all entrances, including shutting off access to the Walgreens drive -through pharmacy window.
Lanza would not comment on whether the search was connected to the January request by the Senate Finance Committee to turn over IRS files on the Islamic American Relief Agency.
Ninth District Rep. Kenny Hulshof, who had asked the FBI to divulge any information it had about terrorism cells in Columbia before Sept. 11, 2001, said he was not given advance notice of Wednesday’s raid.
"There hasn't been any information exchanged between then and today and that's what's troubling--this was out of the blue," Hulshof said.
Hulshof said he would contact FBI officials today to find out what motivated them to act Wednesday.
Bernell Dorrough, Kate Moser, Jennifer Oladipo, Mike Burden, Robbie Ketcham, Heather Olson, Nadia Afifi and the Associated Press contributed to this report
Exiling people like kerry, kennedy, klintoon and the rest of the Ratpack would also help our cause. Bush/Cheney 2004
I read the story headline and of course immediately took it to mean that the Feds had raided some local Democrat Party a.k.a. People for the American Way a.k.a. Southern Poverty Law Center a.k.a. Americans for Separation of Church and State if it feels good tax it "exchange center."
Another Islamofascist charity scam down. Too bad these bastards aren't getting the death penalty.
Ping. Did you guys hear about this? (Our Saturday friends?????)
I wonder if any of these people are among our "Saturday friends"....
Also, Dr. Germ was a student, and later a teacher, there (if I remember correctly).
Prolly so ;)
Waves at Prov and all the Friends
Yep, Snowflake and I watched them loading up the van yesterday from the FReep. Pretty interesting!!!
Great post, local news of national interest!
Yep, MU must be proud. For those FReepers not aware of Missouri University's love of the left, on 9/12/01 the management of THE MU OWNED TV STATION prohibited their on- air staff from wearing or showing red, white and blue items including label flag pins. Real Americans. NOT
Just a grad student. She was never on the faculty.
Well.
I am just shocked.
More than anything else. The U.S. election is the front line on terrorism. If the traitor Kerry wins, the Islamofascists will win and thousands of Americans will die in the next four years.
There is much truth in your words. The dems keep hyping kerry, when in fact he is losing ground. The media loves commies and are a big part of the hate America crowd. Little do those fools realize the islamofacists will kill them for their allah. I do predict President Bush by a landslide. The dems will claim the usual voter disenfranchisement tactic, but wil fail. Jesse will try to cause a few riots and they will be squelched. The CBC will try to get Kofi involved, that won't stand. In conclusion, "So Sad Too Bad," President Bush will win again. Maybe Kerry and Gore will commit suicide after their fall. Bush/Cheney 2004 Let's Roll!! Question for you (libstripper,) how did you derive your handle?
Stripper of liberals' pretensions.
Links to some related articles. I'd heard the Post Dispatch picked up on this one but wasn't able to find anything there.
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=9949 -- Agency eyed by U.S. for 5 years 10-14-2004
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=9956 -- Raids make Muslims wary of charitable giving 10-14-2004
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=9927 -- Agents search local Islamic relief group 10-13-2004
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=5377 -- Senate panel to scrutinize Muslim funds 1-18-2004
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=5378 -- Agency has denied ties to terrorists 1-18-2004
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/9921926.htm?1c -- Officials broaden inquiry into charity
I'm expecting the local mosque to be raided any day now.
By then it will have been scrubbed. Shame the feds couldn't have hit the mosque at the same time they hit the "charity office".
There must be some way to stop or at least slow this down. Saudi blood money is probably footing the bill.
I know what you mean. And 'scrubbed' is right.......lots of books being cooked, I would assume.
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