Counterfeit Goods—“Terror” Suspects

As was expected, the three Texas men who were arrested in Michigan on allegations that they were plotting to blow up the Mackinac Bridge, have been transferred to Federal custody, with federal criminal charges expected to be brought against them. The charges, however, have nothing to do with terrorism. Instead, they will be charged with “conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and money laundering,” because Tuscola County prosecutors have dropped the terrorism charges against them.^[1]

This hasn’t stopped news organizations from continuing to label the individuals as terrorists, much in the same way that Jose Padilla continues to be called a “dirty-bomber.”^[2] For example, an Associated Press article hosted by Grand Rapids NBC affiliate, WOOD, runs a headline saying “County Prosecutor Says Feds Take Over Terrorism Case,” even though the first sentence says that the men will not face terrorism-related charges.^[3] Lansing, Michigan’s CBS affiliate, WLNS, also ran the same headline,^[4] which suggests that it was an AP issue, and not necessarily a network issue, because the same headline is also found in the Lansing State Journal,^[5] and the Dallas Morning News.^[6] To be sure, a number of other organizations are responsibly reporting the changed status, such as the LA Times and Seattle Times,^[7] and even the AP story has, in some circumstances, had its language changed.^[8]

This may seem awfully nit-picky, but it is extremely important that a person not be accused of terrorism if he is not involved in terrorism. Fears about terrorism have risen seven percent in the last month,^[9] and that fear led to breathless reports yesterday, filled with rampant speculation about a diverted plane, which proved to have only a claustrophobic passenger on board.^[10] CNN and other news agencies initially reported, and later retracted, that “the woman had Vaseline, a screwdriver, matches and a note on the Islamic militant group al Qaeda.”^[11] That report turned out to be false after her luggage was searched.^[12]

All this is to say that a defendant in the federal criminal system already has a hard enough time defending himself. Given, as we showed in the Lodi Terrorism trial, that a great many people do not actually believe in the concept of innocent until proven guilty, and that there is no great outcry in Britain against the extradition of those accused of terrorism (just bankers), an individual wrongly accused of terrorism faces far greater challenges than most other criminal defendants.

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[1] Niraj Warikoo, Counterfeiting, Money Laundering Charges Coming in Caro Arrests, Detroit Free Press, Aug. 16, 2006.
[2] See Judge Agrees to Delay Trial of Jose Padilla, AP (via Washington Post), Aug. 3, 2006; Agent: FBI Sought Jose Padilla’s Help to Prevent Possible Al Qaeda Attack, AP (via FoxNews), Jul. 17, 2006.
[3] See County Prosecutor Says Feds Take Over Terrorism Case, AP (via WOODtv.com), Aug. 16, 2006.
[4] See Id. (via WLNS.com).
[5] Id. (via Lansing State Journal).
[6] Id. (via Dallas Morning News).
[7] See Richard B. Schmitt, Cellphone Cases Appear to be Unraveling, LA Times (via Seattle Times), Aug. 17, 2006.
[8] See, e.g., Sarah Karush, Suspected Terror Case Becomes Fraud Probe, AP (via Boston Globe), Aug. 17, 2006.
[9] Carl Hulse, Democrats See Security as Key Issue for Fall, NY Times, Aug. 15, 2006.
[10] See Peter Woodman, Jet Woman’s Panic Causes Flight Chaos, Daily Record (Scotland), Aug. 17, 2006.
[11] Jason Szep, Unruly Passenger Forces Emergency Landing in Boston, Reuters, Aug. 16, 2006.
[12] Id.