…..they say that ISIL (ISIS) is a functioning government.
This story is a few days old (trying to catch up quickly this morning on lots of news).
From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
In one of several motions filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, the attorneys argued that despite its reputation for brutality, ISIL carries many characteristics of a government that tends to day-to-day business and that therefore criminal charges against the defendants are too broad.
“While the group has adopted harshly violent and repressive tactics, and engages in military and insurgency attacks against the Syrian and Iraqi armies, it has also embarked on a systematic process of civilian governance over the eight to 10 million people with the territory it controls,” attorneys said.
Continue reading the argument, then check out this motion. Large amounts of security will taint the jury pool say lawyers for the ‘youths.’
Other motions included a request to dial back a heavy security presence at the trial because the attorneys said it could negatively influence a jury. Current hearings have a large contingent of police and Homeland Security officers, and at least one bomb-sniffing dog.
“If allowed, this extraordinary display of security would be present from the moment jurors arrive at the courthouse until after they leave, serving as a constant reminder, not just of the fact that Defendants are accused of a crime, but of the fact that they are accused of a crime related to terrorism,” the motion stated. “ … The security appears not to be designed to protect against potential danger posed by the accused but, rather, perceived danger from members of the Somali community who are not accused of any crime.”
We have been writing since 2008 about ‘Somali youths’ (media never refers to them as ‘Somali refugees!’) leaving (or wanting to leave the good life you paid for) and returning either to Africa to get jihad training from Al-Shabaab or now to go to Syria/Iraq and join ISIS.
Someone should figure out how much all of these refugee trials and incarcerations are costing the US taxpayer. Local and state courts should bill the US State Department! We have 1,840 posts in our ‘crimes’ category, of course some are abroad, but you can be sure a big chunk of those crime reports are from the US.
