In a 23-page opinion, Federal District Judge Henry Floyd ordered the release of Jose Padilla. Padilla, a U.S. citizen, was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare airport, having flown from Pakistan. He was detained as a material witness, but never charged with any crime.
Judge Floyd's decision will have little practical effect on Padilla--the local U.S. Attorney likely will file charges tomorrow, and the government will appeal. Still, there's a broader question: must U.S. law enforcement have "probable cause" to detain a terrorist bomber just because he happens to be a citizen? Wouldn't it be simpler to top the Statue of Liberty with neon saying: "America recycles terrorists: recruit, then return"?
(via The Corner)
1 comment:
Seriously... 'cause you are joking right? I am sure no patriot would actually support the government holding US citizens and never charging them... that would just be silly for anyone to agree to that since the scope of that power would include the ability to hold millions of Americans indefinitely (including anyone who belongs to a militia, white supremacist group, black panthers, anti-abortion activist, etc. since they can all be defined as terrorist)... Stalin, eat your heart out.
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