Posted on 12/19/2006 10:59:18 PM PST by LibWhacker
His attorney said Friday that Talal "Ted" Ali Chammout is a U.S. citizen who loves America, adores his children and is a respectable mini-mart owner in Porterville.
But federal prosecutor Carl Faller said Chammout, 47, wanted to purchase missiles and rocket launchers and other weaponry to send to terrorists in Iraq, Syria and Jordan.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence O'Neill heeded Faller's advice and ordered Chammout to be detained in the downtown Fresno jail, even though Chammout's relatives were ready to put up $1 million in property as bail until his trial on weapons charges.
(Excerpt) Read more at fresnobee.com ...
Has CAIR been contacted???
"He has a love for this country," Nuttall told O'Neill. "The allegations are diametrically opposed to a man who made his life here."
But Faller, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the judge that the FBI has had Chammout under surveillance since 2004. Faller then gave snippets of Chammout's alleged activity.
In March 2004, Faller said, Chammout met with a confidential witness for the government and inquired about purchasing stolen military weapons. Then in the spring of 2005, Chammout wanted to purchase a gun with a silencer, Faller said.
In a conversation with an FBI agent posing as a hit man, Chammout inquired about killing someone, perhaps his estranged wife, Faller said. When the agent balked, Faller said, Chammout still gave the agent "$1,000 for his trouble."
In September 2005, Chammout talked with the confidential witness about purchasing rocket launchers, Faller said. The next month, he wanted anti-tank weapons, the prosecutor said.
In February of this year, Chammout asked about missile systems that shoot down aircraft, Faller said. Chammout also told the confidential witnesses that "these guys want the stuff. If [news] of it gets out, you're dead."
He loves America. Loves to hate it.
He's from Lebanon (article just says he has family in Lebanon) and his family has property in Dearborn Mich. Doesn't Dearborn have the highest muslim population of any city in the US?
This stinks.
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