State with most terrorism prosecutions… Utah!?!

Well, the state with the most terrorism-related prosecutions is, suprisingly, Utah.

Of the 91 federal court districts across the nation, it is not New York City or Washington, D.C. — which felt the reality of terrorist wrath in 9/11 attacks — that logged the most terrorism-related prosecutions. It is Utah.

The U.S. Department of Justice reported 96 terrorism-related prosecutions in the Beehive state in 2005. That represents one out of every eight such cases nationwide, well ahead of the second-place 80 filed in the Eastern District of Virginia (in the suburbs of Washington), and the third-place 67 in the Southern District of Texas.

Source: DeseretNews.com

Read the article. In 2005, 87 of the 96 terrorism related prosecutions in Utah were related to identity theft... okay, what's this have to do with the "war on terror"?

"Since our goal is to charge defendants before they can put their plans into action, this very often leads to the use of non-terrorism statutes such as fraud or false statement charges, immigration violations, identity theft and other offenses that often carry lesser penalties than offenses associated with completed terrorist acts or conspiracies," Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra said. He added that smaller offenses allow officials to disrupt and prevent more serious attacks.

Seems pretty bogus to me. Are such things as the following really terrorism cases? I think these are just Joe Lunchbox conmen/women, probably out for meth money or fancy electronics, but the Justice Department in Utah treats them as if they were Hamas/Al-Queda money laundering machines... "just in case".

• Jamie A. Barlow, who worked for an orthodontist, pleaded guilty to using the point-of-sale terminal in that office to illegally credit her account with $11,000. Court records say Barlow was given 90 days' house arrest and ordered to pay restitution.

• Eric Arthur Andersen and Deborah Gaye Bower pleaded guilty to charges stemming from fraudulently obtaining a credit card by using his brother's personal information, and then attempting to buy a $2,000 computer from Best Buy.

• Anne Kristine Bennett, Timmothy Ray Grimsley and Jacqueline Carrie Nelson pleaded guilty to charges stemming from stealing checks from the mail and going on a $3,000 spending spree with them in Weber and Davis counties.

• Robert Brad Young pleaded guilty to charges stemming from use of stolen and counterfeited checks, identity theft and use of false identification.

• Blissen Bacala Coelho pleaded guilty to charges stemming from using someone else's Social Security card to open a credit union account, and then using that account for check kiting.

Looks like terrorism to me . Bad crimes, yes... terrorism, probably not.

Yes, Utah is a strange state, but it certainly has little-if-nothing to do with international terrorism. Why not use these statutes to prosecute the detainees at Gitmo, rather than two-bit check crooks in Utah?

Whether you agree with the current tactics or validity of the "war on terror" or not (I don't), this is, indeed, a huge waste of time/energy/resources/law and certainly is a sign that the Justice Dept. is a tad misguided. It also smacks of the "terrorist until proven innocent" mentality that seems to have permeated law enforcement.


[edit on 9-9-2006 by ArbitraryGuy]

Well I have the idea that has to do with the state interpretation of the patriot act and the rights it may give to persecute suspects at a local level.

It seems that since the patriot act many leaser crimes can be targeted Conspiracies and terrorism

Funny how one state is perhaps taking all the advantage it can get from the patriot act.

I wonder if the sentences are stronger because of this. I am glad I am no a citizen of that state.

I have been in Utah onces in a small town that I do not remember its name right now we stay over night.

It was back in the 80s and all the young girls had the same hair do and same clothing style, my husband and I were traveling from NY to California on car to take an fight to his next duty station in Hawaii and I found that so peculiar.

Actually weird.

Originally posted by marg6043
Funny how one state is perhaps taking all the advantage it can get from the patriot act.

I think you're on track with this. Such numbers can't be serious. From the article:

There might also be another reason for the numbers. The Justice Department has used such statistics (along with data from all federal districts) in efforts to obtain anti-terrorism funding and to bolster support for the Patriot Act.

So, the Justice Department may be labeling cases as "terrorism-related" just to get funding and popular support? How low can this go?

[edit on 9-9-2006 by ArbitraryGuy]

It could be the way the federal government promote the patriot act for support.

Remember many state has come out with their own laws and interpretation to stop abuse from the patriot act.

Also limiting the federal government as how they may use it in their particular states.

I see it as briberies so the state will not challenge the patriot.