brees, the dreaded liberal NYT is on top of this, they actually had a story up as soon as the AP, but I clicked the wrong link. They give the bond figure as $500k, which makes more sense. I wouldn't discount the presence of anti-islamic prejudice in law enforcement, but this close to Columbine, in time and space, anything like this would have to be taken seriously.
Colorado Man Is Suspected of Planning Mosque Attack nytimes.com
A 39-year-old man who the police say intended to "incinerate" Colorado's largest mosque, was arrested Wednesday after fleeing the site in a car loaded with bomb-making materials, four guns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
"I am an enemy against the Islamic nation, and I was going to take care of business," the Arapahoe County Sheriff's office quoted the man, Jack M. Modig, as saying.
In the past, Modig has expressed support for the far-right, anti-Government philosophy espoused by the Freemen group in Montana.
The police said Modig tried to ram three police cruisers during a seven-mile chase from the suburban mosque to his rooming house in Denver.
When taken into custody, Modig was dressed all in black -- "black T-shirt, black trouser and black combat boots," according to a press release from the sheriff's office. In his car, he had a black ski mask and black military-style clothing -- a vest and a coat, the police said.
The president of the mosque, Talib Syed, said, "I live in Littleton, in the neighborhood of Columbine, and we are still recovering from that," the attack last month in which 15 people died, including two gunmen.
Syed said the mosque, which is called the Islamic Center and is located southeast of Denver, drew about 500 people every Friday for prayers.
Modig was charged Wednesday with possession of explosive devices, carrying concealed weapons, eluding a police vehicle and three counts of attempted vehicular assault. He is being held on $500,000 bond.
The police said a search of Modig's car turned up two semi-automatic pistols, a shotgun, a rifle, two machetes, a survival knife and ample ammunition for all the firearms, as well as bomb-making materials including three 10-gallon cans filled with gasoline, bleach, electrical tape, flares, batteries, electrical wiring and "cheese cloth for fuses."
"It is our belief, based on our investigation, that he was going to incinerate the Islamic Center," Captain Phil Spence, the sheriff's spokesman, said.
The sheriff's office said Modig had a history of contacts with law-enforcement agencies in Colorado. In 1992, he volunteered to be an informant in four homicide investigations in western Colorado. Last summer, he was "escorted" out of the State Capitol after he tried to contact Bill Owens, who was then State Treasurer. Last fall, Owens was elected Governor. Three months ago, Modig was charged with driving under the influence and possession of narcotic equipment in Gilpin County, 30 miles west of here.
In the fall of 1995, Modig was one of the first of about 150 Coloradans who signed a petition supporting the formation of a "common law court" in northern Colorado. The political movement for these unofficial courts reached its apex the following summer with the siege of the Freemen's compound in northern Montana.
The Denver area has experienced several nativist attacks on immigrant Muslims and the mosque in recent years.
In separate attacks over the last 18 months, gangs have killed two immigrant men who prayed at the mosque. The police labeled the killings hate crimes. |
