Man Trained by Hamas Arrested on Gun Charges in Oregon

A Beaverton man who has been jailed since October on federal gun charges was denied release Tuesday after prosecutors detailed what they consider disturbing facts about his background, including that he trained with the Palestinian guerrilla group Hamas as a youth.

Although prosecutors did not call Ali Khaled Steitiye a terrorist, they said the federal Anti-Terrorism Task Force set up in Portland after the Sept. 11 attacks is investigating him.

Steitiye, 39, was arrested Oct. 24 with two guns, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition and a machete in his car. Police searching his home found a calendar with Sept. 11 circled in red marker.

They also found four Social Security cards, a fake immigration "green" card, $20,000 in cash, a wood-carved plaque with "Hamas" on it, and evidence of credit card fraud and as much as $70,000 in welfare fraud, they said.

Prosecutors said Steitiye, who came to the United States from Lebanon in the early 1980s, may have submitted false tax documents in support of his U.S. citizenship application, which was granted last year. They said they expect to take that and the fraud evidence to a grand jury in January.

"There is no reason for this gentleman to be released," said Fred Weinhouse, an assistant U.S. attorney. "He is an extreme flight risk, and we consider him an extreme danger."

In a plea to Federal Magistrate John Jelderks on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland, Steitiye said he was not dangerous and denied that he had done anything illegal to earn his citizenship. "I am an American citizen, and I care about this country," he said. "I care about the interest of this country and the security of this country. Those are for me."

Steitiye said Sept. 11 was a sad day for him and that's why he had highlighted it on his calendar. He said that as a child growing up in Lebanon, he experienced terrorism firsthand. "I've had Sept. 11 since I was a kid," he said.

Investigators began looking into Steitiye's activities in August after he allegedly lied to a Tigard gun dealer about his felony record. He has felony convictions for theft in 1984 in Oklahoma and for forging a U.S. Treasury check in 1986 in Oregon, records show. It's a federal crime for convicted felons to have guns.

The Anti-Terrorism Task Force put him under surveillance. On Oct. 24, in anticipation of executing a search warrant at his house, Portland police pulled him over, discovering a loaded 9 mm handgun in his waistband, an SAR 7.62-caliber assault rifle -- the same model he tried to buy in August. They also found four 30-round clips and 1,000 rounds for the rifle and a machete.

Steitiye's attorney, Dennis Balske, said Steitiye is married and has four children and that prosecutors are overreacting to a basic gun case based on Sept. 11.

Balske called three friends of Steitiye's who all testified that he was a good family man who prayed regularly at the mosque at the Portland Islamic Center.

"He seems to be a very stable person compared to what I heard from the attorney," said Khalid Elolaimi. "I don't see him as a danger to the community."

Elolaimi said he had recently bought a gun for protection because of post-Sept. 11, anti-Muslim backlash and that many of his friends had done the same. Weinhouse pointed out that Steitiye had tried to buy the assault rifle in August, before the attacks.

Balske called the government's arguments overkill and argued that Steitiye should not be locked up pending his trial.

"There's a little bit of hysteria in the air," Balske said. "I think we need to look at this calmly. They're making this out to be a lot bigger than it is."

But Weinhouse said he would have made the same recommendations if the man's name were "John Smith" because of the "obsessive desire" to obtain an assault weapon, even after he was denied by the Tigard gun dealer.

Jelderks agreed, saying he would not release any defendant in these circumstances "whether Sept. 11 is factored in or not."

A federal grand jury filed a superseding indictment Tuesday -- which is not yet public -- charging Steitiye with making false statements to a licensed gun dealer and being a felon in possession of firearms. The original indictment charged him with lying to the gun dealer and illegally possessing a .45-caliber pistol at a gun show. The latter charge was dropped because police mistook someone else for Steitiye.

Although Steitye was indicted on federal charges, Portland police Chief Mark Kroeker held a hastily arranged news conference late Tuesday to announce the arrest.

It's proof, he said, that the bureau is cooperating with anti-terrorism efforts, contrary to criticism it received last month after it refused the U.S. Justice Department's request to help interview a list of foreign visitors in Oregon.

"This is in response, in part, to misinformation out there that gives the impression the Portland Police Bureau is . . . obstructive in some sense," he said.

Joseph Rose contributed to this story. You can reach Mark Larabee at 503-294-7664 or by e-mail at marklarabee@news.oregonian.com.

Thanks for this post, and I need to ask your insight on a couple of things in this thread:

The Anti-Terrorism Task Force put him under surveillance. On Oct. 24, in anticipation of executing a search warrant at his house, Portland police pulled him over.

So inspite of what the Kroeker and da mayor said, this guy was under surveillance by the Anti Terrorism Task Force! If he was arrested on Oct. 24 and was under surveillance, he had to be one of the people that the Portland Police were told not to quesion.

The guy lived in Beaverton, so how and why did the Portland Cops get involved?

Again from this article: "Although Steitye was indicted on federal charges, Portland police Chief Mark Kroeker held a hastily arranged news conference late Tuesday to announce the arrest.

Why was the Portland Chief even holding this hastily arranged news conference?

"It's proof, he said, that the bureau is cooperating with anti-terrorism efforts, contrary to criticism it received last month after it refused the U.S. Justice Department's request to help interview a list of foreign visitors in Oregon."

How is this proof that the Portland Police are cooperating?

"This is in response, in part, to misinformation out there that gives the impression the Portland Police Bureau is . . . obstructive in some sense," he said.

What misinformation chief?! You said that you would interview the potential terrorists

No federal representatives were at the news conference.

If this butt boy/PC police chief was really cooperating with the Feds, why were there no Federal representatives at the hastily arranged news conference?

Two final questions ex-Texan: Is this devious, dishonest and deceitful behavior typical of what happens under Katz?

If this is standard behavior of Katz's butt boys, what in the hell is wrong with the average Portland voter, tax payer and citizen?

We may be speculating pretty wildly right now about this case because we have no real data to support our hypotheses. I have no information other than the I report posted.

Personally, I have no love for or praise to offer for Vera Katz. Maybe the conflicts over Oregon law are genuine and maybe they are a form of misinformation.

I'm just glad they arrested this man and caught him with hard evidence of violations of federal and state law.

This guy may very well be a 'bad guy.' He's certainly done some pretty stupid stuff to acquire all that contraband gear, and I think it's probably a good thing that he's locked up. But another thing that Chief Kroeker said really fried me and I've yet to see any mention of it.

During his "hasty" news conference, he mentioned the rifle, the pistol and the machete, together with all the ammo and then said something to the effect that none of it had any sporting use and because of the weapons he was a danger to society.

The guy might be a danger to society, but not because of the weapons! Katz and Kroeker both feed from the same trough when it comes to gun control laws and because of the ultra-liberal constituency of the metropolitan area, they'll likely be back for another term or two.

We now vote by mail, but I worked as a precinct worker a couple of times before that came into effect. I was appalled by the number of votes for candidates who described themselves as Socialist. It wasn't just the Yuppy, SUV crowd either, many of them were factory workers and people who should have seen the way the government has 'helped' them over the years.

We all expect a giant earthquake to totally destroy everything one day. It happens around here about every three hundred years, and it's been just about that long since the last one. I keep praying-- like Seldom Seen Smith-- but like him, I guess God has other things to think about.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.