FBI exonerated in death of radical Imam in Michigan

In what may have caused tears to flow from the eyes of radical Islam apologists and leftist politicians such as Rep. John Conyers, the Justice Department released a statement this week saying that evidence does not reveal a violation of the applicable federal criminal civil rights statute or warrant further federal criminal investigation in the death of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a Detroit Muslim cleric, who was shot during an October 28, 2009, arrest by FBI agents in Dearborn, Michigan.

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The department conducted a complete, thorough, and independent review of this matter, said the report. The review included examining all documents witness accounts, forensic evidence and reports, and operational plans and procedures that were generated by an FBI Inspection Division inquiry, a Dearborn Police Department investigation, and the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s office. Additionally, a senior Civil Rights Division prosecutor consulted with Dearborn detectives and forensic experts and interviewed critical witnesses, including the FBI agents who shot Imam Abdullah and who voluntarily agreed to be interviewed. In order to prove unlawful conduct, the government must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that an official, acting under color of law, willfully deprived a person of a right protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States. The prosecution must show that the official used unnecessary and unreasonable force that was not warranted to achieve a legitimate law enforcement purpose. The government must also prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the official acted willfully, that is, with the specific intent to do something the law forbids. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas E. Perez met in Detroit today with members of Imam Abdullah’s family and later with representatives of interested local groups. Assistant Attorney General Perez explained based on a thorough review of the evidence, federal prosecutors have determined that the evidence does not reveal a violation of law.

CONGRESSMAN CONYERS PUSHES FOR PROBE

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other groups had called for an independent investigation of the shooting. On January 13, 2010, Rep. Conyers sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder to request that the civil rights division investigate both the October shooting and whether the FBI violated the Constitution by using informants in mosques. House Judiciary Chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) announced the Justice Department review at a news conference in Detroit sponsored by CAIR's Michigan chapter (CAIR-MI) and attended by a coalition of civil rights groups. "I'm not surprised that Congressman Conyers would side with his big campaign contributors in defending radical killers and terrorists," said former NYPD detective and military intelligence officer Mike Snopes. "And they have the perfect prosecutor in Attorney General [Eric Holder] who's law firm often defends terrorist thugs," he added. "We welcome the decision to open a civil rights investigation of the imam's death and thank Representative Conyers for his leadership in ensuring that all the facts in this troubling case come out," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. The Investigative Project on Terrorism's Steven Emerson has noted in several studies the questionable associations and actions by many of CAIR's leaders that cast serious doubt on its claims of moderation and restraint. Some have committed criminal acts themselves; others have ties to organizations with connections to Islamic extremism. Those convicted of direct criminal activity include Ghassan Elashi, a founding board member of CAIR-Texas; Randall (Ismail) Royer, once a communications specialist for the national group, and Bassam Khafagi, the organization's one-time director of community relations, according to Emerson.

RADICAL IMAM'S SHOOTOUT WITH FBI

According to a Jim Kouri report for The Examiner, agents working on a counterterrorism task force in Detroit, Michigan reported that during a gun battle they shot and killed the Imam of a radical Islamic group. Agents say the gunfight began after Luqman Ameen Abdullah refused to surrender and face various criminal charges. Abdullah is the spiritual leader of a group that is alleged to have engaged in violent activity over a period of many years, and known to be armed. According to the report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police, the FBI was in the midst of arresting Abdullah and 10 of his followers on charges that included conspiracy to sell stolen goods and illegal possession and sale of firearms. According to a preliminary report obtained by NACOP, Abdullah was killed while exchanging gunfire with Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on Wednesday at a warehouse in Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit. Abdullah was the leader of part of an group of Islamists who call themselves Ummah (“the brotherhood”), a group of mostly African-American converts to Islam that seeks to establish a separate Sharia-law governed state within the United States. The Ummah is ruled by Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown, a 1960s radical and Black Panther who is serving a life sentence for the murder of a police officer in Georgia. As detailed in the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint that was unsealed, Abdullah has espoused the use of violence against law enforcement, and has trained members of his group in use of firearms and martial arts in anticipation of some type of action against the government. Abdullah and other members of this group were known to carry firearms and other weapons. According to the FBI, Abdullah is also known as Christopher Thomas. The FBI report states that Abdullah regularly preached anti-government rhetoric, and that some of his followers converted to Islam while in prison. In 2000, Sheriff's deputies Ricky Kinchen and Aldranon English went to (H. Rap Brown's) al-Amin's home to serve an arrest warrant for failing to appear in court on a traffic citation of speeding and impersonating a police officer. al-Amin opened fire with a .223 rifle and English was hit four times. Kinchen was shot with the rifle and a 9mm handgun. The following day, Kinchen died of his wounds in a Georgia hospital. English survived his wounds and identified al-Amin as the shooter from six photos he was shown while recovering in the hospital.