Media Seems Unclear about Innocence of Accused
October 10, 2002
by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor
Are we all hysterical yet? And, in spite of our fears about what terrorists could do at almost any time, are we still mindful of the fact that in our system of justice a person charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty?
The media seemed too eager to wrap up stories by convicting people who were merely arrested, arraigned or indicted for a crime before Sept. 11, 2001. But since the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC, it has become standard practice, particularly in the case of suspects linked to charges of terrorism.
Sure, the reporters and editors in the print and electronic media still used words like “alleged,” “accused” or “suspected” before the names of principles, but that’s only because they are afraid of being sued. Something I suspect you will be reading or hearing about soon.
For now, however, the tenor of such news reports pretty well makes it clear that the media thinks “arrest” equals “guilty,” which it never did except in some foreign countries, like Iraq. Maybe it’s because they still think government agents and intelligence can prevent all acts of terrorism. What else would you expect from a profession which generally believes restricting guns will prevent crime?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m still as concerned as the next person about the prospect of terrorists turning US cities into Beirut or Tel Aviv. And, unlike most of the media, I understand the purpose and significance of the government’s color-coded alert system—most serious gunowners probably do. But I think the same media that berated the late Sen. Joe McCarthy (R-MN) back in the 1950s for creating national hysteria about the “communist threat” are now doing the same thing, and not just with terrorist suspects. They do it with corporate executives, accountants, gunowners, “militia” people and garden variety criminal suspects.
Media Mindset
Given that media mindset, it is not surprising to see journalists and commentators hype up almost any story, often taking a minor government warning into the realm of a monstrous impending danger—like when they hear that a meteorite is going to miss the Earth by just three times the distance to the moon.
Here’s one example:
“The FBI sent a notice to thousands of law enforcement officers on Sept. 18, warning them that terrorists may be developing a new way to hijack passenger jets, government sources told ABCNews. (Probably told other news people, too.)
“The agency also is concerned that the al Qaeda terror network is searching for new ways to sneak explosives on planes—explosives that cannot be detected.
“Law enforcement sources emphasized the al Qaeda discussions took place before last year’s Sept. 11 attacks, and that there is no information indicating current, ongoing planning.
“In today’s weekly Intelligence bulletin, distributed to 18,000 law enforcement agencies around the country, the FBI warns that al Qaeda members have discussed ‘hijacking a commercial airliner using Muslim extremists of non-Arabic appearance’ to slip past security.
“Today’s bulletin is based on interrogation of an al Qaeda member in detention.
“ ‘This is a very smart bunch of people and they definitely think of all the angles,’ said Robert Blitzer, former FBI chief of the Domestic Terrorism/Counterterrorism Planning Section. ‘They are very creative. Just look at how well they hid themselves here in the US prior to the Sept. 11 attacks.’ ”
The ABCNews story continued with, “The discussions involved using 10 to 20 ‘Chechen Muslims affiliated with al Qaeda, but already present in the United States’ to overwhelm the crew after taking seats in first class, according to the FBI bulletin.
“Other discussions called for sneaking liquid explosives mixed with coffee and brought onto the plane in carry-on bags. Aviation sources said current airport technology would not detect such explosives.
“Even though the al Qaeda plans were developed before Sept. 11, sources say, given al Qaeda’s tendency toward long term planning, there is reason for concern.”
The ABCNews story did not go beyond winding up public suspicions of any Muslim, of Arabic descent or not.
Part of the problem with all of this kind of reporting is how it affects communities adversely. It isn’t just the named suspects and their families, but entire towns that are impacted. Mere accusation can cause undesired affects.
Lackawanna Suspects
I have some opportunity to see it first hand because of what the media has branded as “Lackawanna six” or the al Qaeda “sleeper cell.”
A few days before the FBI rounded up five young men of Yemeni descent in Lackawanna, NY, a former steel-making city adjacent to Buffalo, Dave Workman sent me the following report out of the Second Amendment Foundation’s (SAF) Bellevue, WA, office.
“Seattle, WA, resident James Ujaama, held for weeks in a Virginia detention facility, was indicted on Aug. 27 for conspiring to help al Qaeda terrorists.
“Part of the plan, according to the indictment, involved buying a ranch near Bly, OR, where a terrorist training camp was to be established. Ujaama was also accused of leading discussions about committing armed robberies and building underground bunkers to hide ammunition and weapons.
“Other allegations include the planned firebombing of vehicles, and manufacturing poisonous materials for use against the public.
“Ujaama has maintained his innocence.
“According to the indictment, Ujaama has been actively engaged in supporting al Qaeda since 1999. The indictment alleges that the bunkers would have been built on the Bly property, and that Ujaama actually led discussions in autumn 1999 with unidentified and unindicted co-conspirators about building a jihad training camp, after he had visited the Oregon ranch property.
“Ujaama allegedly told his co-conspirators that he had visited and been trained at al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.”
Workman concluded that report by noting, “Incredibly, the same man now under indictment has been recognized for his work in the minority community. In Las Vegas, he was given a key to the city. Washington state lawmakers honored him on June 10, 1994 by declaring that date ‘James Ujaama Day’ and he also received a certificate of Special Congressional Recognition.”
On Sept. 14, five young native born Yemeni-American men were rounded up by the FBI in Lackawanna and accused of undergoing weapons training at an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan in the spring and summer of 2001—before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon—and returning as what one federal agent called a “sleeper cell,” awaiting an order for an attack on American targets.
Government Labels
“We have the key players in western New York,” said Peter Ahearn, FBI special agent in charge in Buffalo, according to The New York Times. “They worked together, they socialized together, they lived within blocks of each other. It’s a trained group of individuals that were trained in Afghanistan. It’s an al Qaeda-trained cell.”
A day later, it was reported that a sixth man, who lived near the other young men in the Yemeni community of Lackawanna, was arrested in the Gulf emirate of Bahrain as he prepared for his arranged marriage there.
Since then, the six have been confined by federal agents and have appeared at multi-day federal court bail hearings in Buffalo. Newsweek claimed that unusually long bail hearings following their arraignment is something of a record, and the federal judge has announced that he will issue a decision by Oct. 3 (a week after this issue of Gun Week goes to press). His decision on granting bail could surprise many, and a trial could find them innocent.
Nobody had declared special days in their honor, like the suspect in Workman’s story, but they are registered Democrats, according to The Buffalo News. You’ll be reading and hearing more about this story in weeks and months to come.
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