Ross Taylor|Virginian Pilot
Posted on 03/10/2011 5:58:06 PM PST by csvset
NORFOLK
Thirteen Somalis and one Yemeni captured after four Americans were killed aboard a yacht last month are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Norfolk this afternoon on piracy, kidnapping and gun charges.
The men were brought into the federal courthouse in downtown Norfolk this morning.
The group was turned over to the Justice Department on Wednesday after being held aboard the carrier Enterprise since the Feb. 22 shooting deaths of the Americans. A Navy spokesman said the Somalis were removed from the ship by Department of Justice officials.
A federal grand jury indicted 14 suspected pirates, the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday.
U.S. Attorney Neil McBride plans to hold a news conference today at 1 p.m. in Norfolk to discuss indictment of the men. The special agents in charge of the FBIs New York and Norfolk field offices are expected to attend along with the special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
The 58-foot sloop Quest was pirated off the Oman coast in the Arabian Sea on Feb. 18.
Four Navy ships responded and on Feb. 21, one of the men was transferred from the yacht aboard the San Diego-based Navy destroyer Sterett to represent the group in negotiations, according to the indictment.
On Feb. 22, someone from the yacht fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Sterett, the indictment says. At some point that day, all four Americans were shot and killed without provocation by three of the men, the indictment says.
Navy SEALs stormed the yacht and captured the men. They recovered a rocket-propelled grenade launcher along with three live rounds, several AK-47 and FAL assault rifles, the indictment says. Additional weapons are believed to have been dumped into the sea.
The Quest's owners, Scott and Jean Adam of Los Angeles, and their friends Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay of Seattle, were killed in the attack.
Virginian-Pilot writer Cindy Clayton contributed to this report.
Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com [1]
Ross Taylor|Virginian Pilot
Think maybe the guy with mask is contagious? Gonomonosyphoclap?
Club Gitmo II: They think they died and went to heaven. And speaking of Gitmo, why are they in Virginia court?
And when these jackals are found guilty, find the nearest yardarm and make an example for the other thieves to learn from...
TB would be my guess.
These are probably the best living conditions they’ve ever had in their miserable, thieving lives, with the best food and the best clothing, TV, etc. Why do we bother? Why not just sink their boats and be done with it. Why does everything bad end the world end up costing the US taxpayers a small fortune?
If we weren’t temporarily trapped in this burning madhouse, the headline would read “Arabian Sea piracy suspects appear at bottom of Arabian Sea”.
The penalty for piracy should be death.
Sorry folks, they're pirates, not shoplifters.
Just why weren’t these pirate killers drowned or shot at sea within seconds of killing those naive people? The United States is broke. Just think how much they are costing the taxpayer....and if they go to jail for the rest of their lives. What a waste!
So these Muslim terrorists will be tried and sentenced in a U.S. criminal court. Then incarcerated in a U.S. facility. Where they can proselytize to Western criminals and convert them all into Muslims who have found Islam, the religion of peace. Nice work, DOJ! Turn every fatal terrorist strike upon Americans in any part of the world into a domestic law enforcement matter. And then, don’t forget to grant the defendants three squares, constitutional rights, and a criminal defense lawyer to represent them. All at taxpayers’ expense. Are the Somalians finished laughing at us yet?
What gun law are they charged with violating? Are we enforcing gun control laws across the Seven Seas now?
Try ‘em in King Neptune’s Court... down below.
All pirates, muster abreast Davey Jones' Locker.
Pity we are a nation of laws. We should give the President the authority to order executions without trials.
Until the UN got involved, the law of the sea was that pirates could be shot on sight and executed upon capture.
Most likely a spitter.
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