Re: Terrorism charges dropped in Ohio cell phone case

[Drsolly <drsollyp () drsolly com>]

> Prosecutors in Ohio dropped terrorism charges Monday against two
> 20-year-old Dearborn men who were arrested last week after buying hundreds
> of cell phones.
>
> Washington County Prosecutor James Schneider said that there was not
> enough evidence to prosecute Osama Abulhassan and Ali Houssaiky. But
> Schneider said his office will continue to prosecute them on a misdemeanor
> charge of lying to police.

It would be interesting to know what this lie was.
 
> The men will most likely be released Tuesday after a court hearing, and
> will face a court date probably next month, Schneider said.
>
> The misdemeanor charge “has nothing to do with terrorism,’’ he said.
 
> But the investigation into the men, and possible ties to suspicious
> activity, will continue, he said. Police in Ohio are working with local,
> state, and federal law enforcement officials in Ohio and Michigan on the
> case.
>
> There has been concern that the men may have planned to target airplanes,
> he said.

Hmm, intent to sell mobile phones to air travellers. Surely there's crime 
there?
 
> But family members said that the men were targeted because of their
> background – both are the children of Muslim immigrants from Lebanon.
>
> In a statement, the Washington County Prosecutor’s office said:
>
> “The State is currently in possession of sufficient evidence in support of
> probable cause on the felony charges, however, more information is needed
> to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” read part of it.
 
Couldn't they be charged with "Possession of a beard and turban"? Or at 
least "Having a suspicious sounding name"?

It looks like this case was exactly what I said it was. A couple of 
enterprising kids, contravening Walmart's "Three per customer" rule, in 
order to buy cheaply something they could sell at a profit.

By the way, I've decided against buying that GPS thingy on Ebay, because 
I've changed what I'm buying. I've decided that a GPS-enabled PDA would be 
much better than a dedicated GPS device; cheaper, and more functional for 
what I want to do, as well as giving me a whole bunch of extra 
functionality as a PDA does. 

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