- Title: USA: Four suspects in NY synagogue bomb plot to be held in jail
- Date: 22nd May 2009
- Summary: WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MAY 21, 2009) (REUTERS) EXTERIORS OF U.S. FEDERAL COURT HOUSE IN WHITE PLAINS FLAGS FLYING OUTSIDE U.S. FEDERAL COURT HOUSE
- Embargoed: 6th June 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVA7P5ZO7WHRS6IOGKWH9RYM7YTN
- Story Text: Four Muslim men suspected of a plot to blow up two New York synagogues and shoot down military planes were ordered to remain in jail on Thursday (May 21) in what police called a case of homegrown terrorism.
The case has shaken a wealthy neighborhood of New York City's Bronx borough where police said the men, who had been watched for nearly a year in a sting operation, planted what they thought were bombs in cars parked outside each synagogue.
The suspects then intended to shoot down planes with guided surface-to-air missiles, but the explosives and the missiles, which had been sold to the accused plotters by an FBI informant, were deactivated, police said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Smith ordered James Cromitie, 55, to remain in jail along with David Williams, 28, Onta Williams, 32, and Haitian citizen Laguerre Payen, 27. The Williams brothers and Cromitie appeared before the court together, while Payen appeared separately.
"These are extremely violent men. They pose an extreme risk of danger to the community," prosecutor Eric Snyder told the court. "These people were eager to bring death to Jews."
Emerging from courthouse, Susanne Brody, defence lawyer for Onta Williams refused to tell reporters what her client had told her. When asked by a reporter if there was more to the case than the charge of "evil" intentions, Brody replied that of course there was more to it.
While defence lawyer Marilyn Reader told the court that her client, Payen, who appeared in court separately from the other men and with a bandage on his head, suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and could not read or write in English. Outside the court, surrounded by reporters, Reader refused to say much. The only thing she confirmed was that she had met her client Payen for the first time on Thursday.
Police said the suspects had criminal records and may have converted to a radical version of Islam while in prison. They had no known links to al Qaeda, police said.
It was the most recent homeland security case to rattle the United States since the hijacked plane attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001.
Authorities said Cromitie was the leader of the group and he chose synagogues after reportedly having said: "The best target (the World Trade Center) was hit already."
The FBI and New York police arrested the men on Wednesday night after they planted 37 pounds (17 kg) of inert C-4 explosives in each of two cars parked outside each synagogue.
From there they had planned to travel about 60 miles (96 km) upstate to an Air National Guard base at Stewart airport in their hometown of Newburgh to shoot down planes with the deactivated stinger missile.
Each was charged with one count of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, and one count of conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, which also carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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