Prosecutors and court records describe a series of actions by 35-year-old Yousef Mohammad Ramadan that raise concerns about whether he was preparing for a terror attack three years after being released from federal prison.
Ramadan’s lawyer, Amanda Bashi, said Ramadan is being targeted for his beliefs and for consuming Islamic State media, which does not constitute a violation.
"We are here because the government finds Yousef Ramadan's views abhorrent," Bashi said during the detention hearing.
^Federal^ ^agents^ ^seized^ ^several^ ^items^ ^from^ ^Yousef^ ^Ramadan's^ ^luggage^ ^in^ ^2017,^ ^including^ ^armor^ ^plates,^ ^a^ ^bullet-proof^ ^vest,^ ^pepper^ ^spray,^ ^a^ ^gas^ ^mask,^ ^an^ ^aerial^ ^drone,^ ^a^ ^Taser^ ^and^ ^tactical^ ^knives.^ ^Ramadan's^ ^attorney^ ^has^ ^said^ ^recent^ ^charges^ ^against^ ^the^ ^defendant^ ^have^ ^more^ ^to^ ^do^ ^with^ ^his^ ^views,^ ^arguing^ ^he^ ^has^ ^not^ ^committed^ ^a^ ^violent^ ^act.^
“It’s no secret, I think, to say that the government believes Mr. Ramadan is a terrorist,” Bashi said. “But the problem is that has not borne itself out.”
“If they found nail polish remover in his house, don’t you think we’d be hearing about that?” she said. “We didn’t hear anything that he actually took any step to do anything.”
She called Islamic State images cited by prosecutors “disgusting.” […] “Much as any of us might disagree and might find that disgusting, we can’t put people in jail because of it,” Bashi said. “That’s not what we do.”
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