The paranoia of law enforcement in some parts of this country is getting ridiculous. Three north Texas men have been arrested in Caro, Michigan. What was their crime? Buying cellphones while being Arabic! I didn't know there was a law in this country that would prohibit persons of Arabic-extraction from buying cellphones, but evidently there is in Michigan.
This was not a prolonged police investigation that uncovered a plot to blow up anything. No, these men were stopped by police because they bought 80 cellphones from a Michigan Wal-Mart. After stopping the men for the legal purchase, police discovered they had about 1000 cellphones in their vehicle [also not against the law]. Since the Arabic men had made a legal purchase, and were in legal possession of many other cellphones, police arrested the men and charged them supporting terrorist activities.
The men say they were buying the phones to resell at a profit. They had traveled north to buy the phones because of a shortage of phones in the Texas area, because many others are also buying the phones and reselling them for a profit. They said they had been stopped in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, but were cleared and released. They said they had even been cleared by the FBI. Evidently the police and prosecutors of Caro, Michigan are a bit more paranoid.
The Caro police chief said the phones could be used as detonators by terrorists. Well Duh! ANY electronic device from toys to alarm clocks can be used as detonators. But you do not automatically become a terrorist by purchasing electronic devices, not even if you buy a lot of them.
What the police chief didn't say, is that there is absolutely nothing that links these three men to any terrorist group. They were trying to make some money in the grand old capitalist tradition of buying and selling merchandise. Their only crime was being Arabic. Would they be in jail if they weren't Arabic? No, they wouldn't. Someone needs to step in and inform the Caro Police of three things:
1. It's not against the law to be of Arabic descent.
2. It's not against the law to purchase cellphones.
3. It's not against the law to possess any amount of cellphones.
These men should be released until it can be shown that they have actually violated a real law.
It's so stupid. These prepaid phones are sold at a loss with the intent to make ongoing profit from the overpriced minutes. Unlock them and they can be used with any plan. Duh.
ReplyDeleteCharged: Participating in free enterprise while 'swarthy'
Also charged: Conducting law enforcement and journalism while not knowing how to google.