Courtesy of The United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Tennessee
WASHINGTON, March 26, 2008 — A federal grand jury in Nashville returned a five-count indictment today charging three men for their role in the arson of the Islamic Center in Columbia, Tenn., on Feb. 9, 2008, the Justice Department announced. Eric Ian Baker, Jonathan Edward Stone and Michael Corey Golden were charged with a conspiracy to violate civil rights, destroying a house of worship, possession of a destructive device, use of fire to destroy a building and use of fire to commit a felony.
The indictment alleges that between Feb. 2, 2008, and Feb. 9, 2008, Baker, Stone and Golden, all of whom are said to be members of a white supremacist group known as the "The Aryan Alliance," conspired with one another to burn a mosque known as the Islamic Center in Columbia, Tenn. The indictment further alleges that during the early morning hours of Feb. 9, 2008, Baker drove Golden and Stone to a convenience store in Columbia where they made Molotov cocktails filled with gasoline. According to the indictment, Golden and Stone later hurled the Molotov cocktails into the Islamic Center setting the building on fire while Baker spray painted phrases, which included "White Power," onto the exterior of the mosque.
The case was investigated by the Columbia, Tenn., Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal McDonough and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Jonathan Skrmetti.
An indictment is only an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
2 comments:
Well this certainly isn't the way to handle Islamic extremism.
I haven't looked into these "Aryan Nation" types much, but one time read a bit about the militia movement. It's bigger than you might think, and every state in the union has at least one.
So far they haven't proven to be much of a threat, and in fact one of the great unheralded success stories of the FBI in the 1990s was their successful prosecution of several of the militia organizers.
Tom, I agree this is a backward way to deal with Islamic extremism. Glad the FBI was awake on this one.
"Aryan Nation" type of radicals have posed a threat in the past. The Oklahoma Federal Building was just one example of how a few buttheads born in America can threaten the lives of innocent women and children because of some warped values.
Southern Poverty Law Center has a very good monthly magazine "Intelligence Report" ( http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intpro.jsp )that deals with racially movivated extremists.
Have a good day Tom and thanks for the visit.
R/
Bosun
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