6/20: Media lynching of a Lodi family
On June 16th, a federal grand jury indicted Umer Hayat, a Lodi ice cream truck driver, and his son Hamid on charges they lied to FBI agents. The two men were arrested on June 5th and accused of lying during interrogation about a trip Hamid took to Pakistan. The FBI gave the media a far more damaging version of the affidavit against Umer and Hamid Hayat than was finally given to a court in Sacramento. The affidavit filed Thursday June 9th did not contain any of the sensational material from earlier in the week which said the son's "potential terrorist targets included hospitals and groceries, and contained names of key individuals and statements about the international origins of 'hundreds' of participants in alleged Al Qaeda terrorist training camps in Pakistan." In response to the leaked FBI accusations Hamid Hayat's attorney stated, "my client and his son are only charged with one thing, and that is making a false statement. Though there are very alarming statements in the complaint concerning terrorist organizations ... it's important to note that my client is not charged with being involved in terrorist acts. He has been painted with the brush of being a terrorist and he's not even charged with it." Attorneys say they will challenge the government on this discrepancy, which they see as a deliberate move by the FBI to prejudice the case against their clients. Even if the Hamids committed no crimes before the FBI interrogation, each charge of lying could result in 8 years in a federal prison, which shows the danger of ever talking to the FBI.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has eight verified incidents of civil rights violations by the FBI against Muslims in Lodi, including threats of deportation, humiliating two people in front of co-workers, threatening to charge people with jaywalking if they didn't cooperate, and not allowing attorneys to be present during questioning. Civil rights groups are filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking FBI records of the procedures and policies used during the questioning and detention of dozens of Muslims in the Central Valley town of Lodi. In addition to arresting the Hayats, the FBI also arrested several leaders of local mosques. Two of those arrested, Muhammed Adil Khan and Shabbir Ahmed were known for organizing interfaith events to help spread religious tolerance. Rabbi Jason Gwasdoff of Temple Israel, a synagogue in Stockton, worked with Muhammed Adil Khan and Shabbir Ahmed to organize the Celebration of Abraham, celebrating the common roots of Jews, Christians and Muslims in the biblical patriarch Abraham.

The arrests in Lodi come just weeks after a similar set of arrests on the East Coast. Tarik Shah and Rafiq Sabir were arrested on May 28th. Rafiq Sabir, a doctor, was charged with conspiring "to treat wounded jihadists in Saudi Arabia". Tarik Shah, a well-known New York City jazz musician and son of a former aide to Malcolm X, was charged with conspiring to teach militants martial arts. Prosecutors said Shah and Sabir were caught expressing their "eagerness to help terrorists" in secretly taped conversations with an undercover FBI agent posing as an "al-Qaida recruiter".

Both the Lodi and E Coast arrests come as Bush is struggling for the renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act. Even if the arrests get overturned by the courts as entrapment, they may have only been intended to create a public perception of a terrorist threat to rally support behind the law. In Sacramento , the American Muslim Alliance & California Civil Rights Alliance held a townhall meeting on June 14th to discuss the Lodi arrests and "how not to be a victim of guilt by association." The Sacramento Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) also hosted a series of “Know Your Rights” workshops in Lodi and Stockton, Calif., prompted by reports of what local Muslims called “harassment” by FBI agents. Sunday's workshop in Stockton, attended by some 200 area Muslims, was the last of three sessions designed to inform community members about their legal rights.

FOIA Request Filed Over Lodi ‘Harassment' | Oh ! Lord, I'm stuck in Lodi again | Friends describe terror suspect as well-known New York musician | Council Of American-Islamic Relations