Posted on 07/09/2002 9:44:51 PM PDT by spycatcher
SAN ANTONIO, Texas Three men with Arab names were charged Tuesday with making terrorist threats after allegedly telling a stripper at a topless bar they intended to blow up military bases in San Antonio.
According to a police report obtained by WOAI radio under the Texas Open Records Act, the men were "very serious" and said they were "having a good time and spending our money just like our others did before 9-11."
Some of the Sept. 11 terrorists spent the week before the attacks in a topless bar in Florida.
Patrolman Al Ballew said the three men, identified by police as Jadallah Abdallah, 21; Matram Sayez Hijaz, 20; and Rabhi Abdalla, 25, were paying "large amounts of money" to a stripper for private dances.
Abdallah and Abdalla gave addresses in San Antonio, although Abdalla claimed he was from "the West Bank." Hijaz gave police an address in Mesquite, a Dallas suburb.
Police confiscated a brown paper bag from Abdalla containing "several names and numbers and vehicle keys," as well as 21 gold and platinum credit cards. They also confiscated three Texas driver's licenses from Abdalla.
Officers also found a road map of Florida in the men's car, as well as "envelopes written in Arabic."
Federal Charges Unlikely!
Mark Rich, an FBI spokesman in San Antonio, said the men were questioned by agents, and he said they were "very interested" in the comments they made, but he told WOAI that federal charges were unlikely.
The men were being detained for the Immigration and Naturalization Service and were facing state charges of making terrorist threats. They were held in the county jail in lieu of $2 million bond apiece.
Officials could not confirm if the names given were the men's real names, if they are Arabs, or whether Hijaz really was from the West Bank. Their car was registered in North Carolina.
The manager of the topless club declined to comment.
Huge Military presence in that little ville. Analogous of walking into a biker bar and stating that leather and Harley's are a sure sign of latent homosexuality......ie ya ain't gonna get out alive making such statements.
Stay Safe !
Good comment, but I think it's actually "officialdom" that is "snoozled" regarding the threat to national security. Or more correctly, they are so paralyzed with "Political Correctness", "compassion" and "kinder gentler" they seem to forget who they work for. Must the citizens take matters in their own hands to save the country??
With a 2 million dollar bond, and "terrorist" threats...I wouldn't lay down too much money they'll be out any time soon.
But, I heard this one is looking for an acting spot.....and her father does know a lot of people in Hollywood.
TOO LATE, bro! Okay I gotta go back and not look again...
There was a thread about women that are brought to this country, illegally, to work as prostitutes qualifing for residency, because of the victim status, in some misguided liberal's opinion (Clinton?), that such work automatically conveyed to them.
Evidently, alot of illegal alien prostitutes have been granted residency under this program.
What do you want to bet that Clinton has a copy of that list of 'amnestied' prostitutes? Sounds like the whole deal could have been his brainchild.
In addition to amnesty, all we have to do is make them special, under-cover agents. Maybe under-burkha agents would sound more appropriate for this mission. ;^)
Apparently so. Incredible.
Thanks for reminding me. Yeah, that will keep them held. They won't be paying
for any lap dances for quite a while I think, LOL!
Three men of Palestinian descent were being held on bonds of $2 million each after allegedly telling a stripper they planned to blow up military bases around San Antonio. Ribhi Abdalla, 25, his cousin Jadallah Abdallah, 21, both of San Antonio, and Makram Sayel Hijaz, 20, of Mesquite, were arrested Monday night at a North Side strip club. They were being held late Tuesday in Bexar County Jail on charges of making terroristic threats. While details of the arrest spread quickly around San Antonio, it wasn't altogether clear just how seriously federal and state investigators were taking the alleged threats. Charles Jenkins, a federal prosecutor assigned to the terror task force in the U.S. attorney's office, said he was unaware of any basis for federal charges. He suggested the rumor mill was outpacing reality, but declined to elaborate. "I think there's less here than meets the ear," he said. San Antonio police referred media calls to the FBI. FBI Special Agent Mark Rich said his agency has assisted the police in following up on the arrests, but that the case will remain a local one. "It's a local matter," he said. "There are no federal charges." Abdalla is an American citizen; the other two are recent immigrants. They were arrested about 11 p.m. Monday at the XTC Cabaret after allegedly making remarks to a stripper about waging "holy war" and saying they were going to carry out the work of the Sept. 11 terrorists by attacking local military bases, according to a police report. The stripper told investigators the men "were very serious while they were talking about this," the police report states. They told her "not to be afraid, that they were not going to hurt her, that they were here for other things." The men, who held jobs at gas stations and convenience stores, told her "we are having a good time and spending our money, just the way our others (sic) did before 9-11," the report states. A club manager described the men as "boisterously drunk." Police confiscated at least 21 bank and department store credit cards from Abdalla and impounded his car, which carried North Carolina license plates and contained a map of Florida. Reached at a South Side convenience store, frantic relatives of the cousins insisted none of the men had any strong political or religious leanings and called the charges baseless. Ribhi Abdalla's older brother, Maisar, 26, described Ribhi as a hardworking family man and said someone must have misunderstood the men. "All my brother thinks about is bringing food to his wife and daughter," he said. Jadallah Abdallah's brother, Shihada, said his brother grew up in the West Bank and dreamed of immigrating to the United States. "Since he was 12 years old he wanted to come and live here," Shihada said through a family translator. Far from embracing militant causes, Jadallah moved here "to get away from the problems," he said. Family members said Ribhi Abdalla was born in the West Bank but grew up mostly in Dallas and came with his many siblings to San Antonio about seven years ago. Abdalla works about 10 to 12 hours a day behind a cash register at an uncle's gas station. He and his wife have a young daughter and are expecting another child. Maisar said his brother called him three times since his arrest, at first "swearing and crying and saying he really didn't remember what happened." By mid-afternoon, however, his brother sounded more composed and felt the charges soon would be dropped. Makram Hijaz is not related to the cousins and was visiting San Antonio from Mesquite, according to the brothers. They said the cousins were taking Hijaz out on the town. The club's general manager, Napolean Rodriguez, said that early in the evening the men argued with him about a lost cell phone. Later, Rodriguez said the stripper took him aside and told him the men had threatened to bomb military bases. He quickly summoned police. No matter how the investigation concludes, Rodriguez said he had no regrets about the call. "Nowadays, you have to take this seriously," he said. "What if I didn't call police and something would have happened?" mrgonzalez@express-news.net Staff Writer Maro Robbins contributed to this report.
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Yeah, right. Then the Feds will crank up the machine to get all the "Domestic terrorists" oppressing the poor arab muslim victims. How dare you suggest that mere ordinary citizens take matters into their own hands. That is the government's job! This is just one more reason why we absolutely MUST get all of the guns out of private hands.
sarcasm/
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