Man arrested with explosives at Michigan mosque

[Drolefille]

Washington Post

A 63-year-old Southern California man who was traveling with explosives in his vehicle with the intention of blowing up one of the nation's largest mosques where mourners had gathered for a funeral was arrested in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan authorities said Sunday.

Dearborn police said Roger Stockham was arraigned Wednesday on one count of making a false report or threat of terrorism and one count of possessing explosives with an unlawful intent. Stockham had a large but undisclosed quantity of class-C fireworks including M-80s, which are outlawed in Michigan, Chief Ronald Haddad said.

Haddad said Stockham was arrested Monday evening without incident in the parking lot of Islamic Center of America, while a large group was gathered inside. He said police received a 911 call from a resident.

Haddad said authorities believe Stockham was acting alone but still take him "very seriously." He said Stockham has "a long history of anti-government activities," though he declined to elaborate.

The chief said he called the mosque leader, Imam Hassan al-Qazwini, early Tuesday to let him know of the arrest, and later met with Qazwini and mosque board members. He said members shared concerns about copycat crimes if the arrest was publicized, and Haddad said he understood.

AP:

Joe Nahhas, a manager at the J.S. Fields bar in Detroit, told The Associated Press that a man later identified as 63-year-old Roger Stockham ordered a Scotch on Jan. 24 and told him he planned to cause an explosion that would be "here, there, the mosque."
Nahhas said he called 911 to report the incident, and police have said a tip preceded Stockham's arrest near the Islamic Center of America in neighboring Dearborn a few hours later.

...

Court documents in Vermont show Stockham pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges stemming from threats made in 2002 against the U.S. president and against veterans' facilities in that state. Stockham was charged after officials say he threatened employees at a Veterans Administration hospital in White River Junction, Vt., and at a veterans' center in South Burlington, Vt. He allegedly threatened the murder the president — who at the time was George W. Bush — saying he was going to "whack the bastard."
According to Thomas Zonay, an attorney who represented him at the time, Stockham was committed for a psychiatric examination at the U.S. Medical Center for Prisoners in Springfield, Mo., for four months in 2005 and was found to have bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and personality disorder. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons says Stockham was released from custody that year.

How dangerous are a bunch of Class C fireworks? Beyond the "terror" aspect of it, would it have started a fire, or destroyed more than that if he'd set them off en masse in the mosque?

Either way, thank goodness for people like the bartender who called in the threat and the police for picking him up and doing it quietly.

[AnotherKD]

Well, though M80s are outlawed in MI (where I grew up), people have them and we can get them easily, just across the Ohio border. Basically, you can go into any fireworks store, tell them that you're taking them out of state, and there you go. But they are minor fireworks, in comparison with any other explosive.

That being said, Dearborn is one of the biggest Muslim populations in the US, and I grew up right around there. It makes me really sad to see this.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by AnotherKD

Well, though M80s are outlawed in MI (where I grew up), people have them and we can get them easily, just across the Ohio border. Basically, you can go into any fireworks store, tell them that you're taking them out of state, and there you go. But they are minor fireworks, in comparison with any other explosive.

That being said, Dearborn is one of the biggest Muslim populations in the US, and I grew up right around there. It makes me really sad to see this.

Reading up on the fireworks it seems like this would have started a fire, or caused smoke damage but could have led to injuries or death if people had been in the mosque at the time. And it would have been literal terrorism even so. Had he unpacked the explosives and repackaged them in some way or with some other fuel that could have caused an explosion then major damage would have been a much bigger issue.

[victoriana]

Wow, this is really scary! I can't believe I didn't hear about this, since I live pretty close. Thank goodness the bartender called it in.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by victoriana

Wow, this is really scary! I can't believe I didn't hear about this, since I live pretty close. Thank goodness the bartender called it in.

It was all over the Detroit local news this morning. I think the clear intent is more important than whether the weapons used would be effective. The guy on the plane who lit himself on fire only to find his explosives didn't work had clear intent, even though he wasn't successful. This is our new world, it's not pretty

[Tulip86]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Washington Post


AP:


How dangerous are a bunch of Class C fireworks? Beyond the "terror" aspect of it, would it have started a fire, or destroyed more than that if he'd set them off en masse in the mosque?

Either way, thank goodness for people like the bartender who called in the threat and the police for picking him up and doing it quietly.

Living in a city where a firework explosion ("regular new-years-eve-fireworks" catching fire inside an enclosed area) killed 23, injured 950 and levelled an entire neighbourhood, I'd say fireworks would classify as a weapon if he intended to use them indoors or in close vicinity to others.

[AnchorAlum]

Yesterday this suspect received a new attorney after he petitioned the court to do so, since his public defender admitted that he was a member of the Mosque that was allegedly threatened.

He did the court a favor. Imagine if the issue hadn't been raised. Seems it would have been an automatic basis for an appeal.

Regardless of one's thoughts or opinions on the issue, no one should live in fear of having their place of worship bombed - while they and their families are inside.

[Drolefille]

AnchorAlum, I'm curious about what you mean by "regardless of one's thoughts or opinions on the issue." What issue?

[AnchorAlum]

I could have chosen a better word to describe an alleged attempt to bomb a house of worship.

Use of the word issue was hasty and not well chosen. Although if I were sitting inside the building at the time I certainly would have thought it was a MAJOR issue.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlum

I could have chosen a better word to describe an alleged attempt to bomb a house of worship.

Use of the word issue was hasty and not well chosen. Although if I were sitting inside the building at the time I certainly would have thought it was a MAJOR issue.

I guess what i mean is, what other thoughts can there BE on the issue of attempting to set fire/blowup/terrorize a house of worship? It was just how you phrased it like "everyone can agree this is wrong no matter what they think about X" and I don't think there's anything else to think about X in this situation.

[AnchorAlum]

I think I've clarified my thoughts.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlum

I think I've clarified my thoughts.

I'm still confused, but whatever. I brought it up because i think, sometimes, we have a tendency to try and bring people together despite the fact that there is zero rational basis for having an alternative opinion. Your statement came off as an example of that to me. The only way I could see someone 'feeling otherwise' about this issue is if they think that Muslims are somehow the enemy or are non-american, less human, etc.

And I'm kind of tired of putting up with irrationality for the sake of bringing people together. (And there's sort of a stereotype of this being a female trait that's a whole other issue. Women as peacemakers.) This just isn't something where people can have reasoned disagreements like oh say politics or healthcare. If there are people who are pro-this-guy's-attempted-actions, fuck them.

So, in short, your post was only a springboard for another point. There's no ire or anything targeted at you for your post.