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Florida
Governor Jeb Bush said U.S. and state agents would visit mosques
in the state providing security advice.
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MIAMI,
August 28 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - U.S. federal agents and
local police were set Tuesday, August 27, to meet with Muslim leaders
in Florida to discuss security steps after a doctor was charged with
hoarding weapons and planning to use them against Islamic institutions
in Florida.
Florida
Governor Jeb Bush announced the move Monday, August 26, immediately
after a Muslim community group urged him to investigate reports of a
terror plot against Islamic schools and mosques in the southeastern
U.S. state.
Bush
directed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to initiate contact
with Islamic centers across the state, saying federal agents also
would discuss security measures with Muslim leaders.
Florida
Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Tim Moore said about 200
mosques would be visited.
“We’re
here to provide a level of security,” said Bush, a brother of U.S.
President George W. Bush. “It is a duty of the state government and
local government and federal government ... to protect people’s
rights and to make sure they are not targeted because of their
ethnicity, their nationality or their religion. Period.”
“Those
who send their children to religious schools or who pray in mosques,
synagogues or churches have every right to practice their religion in
a peaceful state and safe environment.”
He
made the remarks in a conference call with law enforcement agencies
and the Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) Monday.
CAIR
had complained that police failed to treat seriously the case of a
Florida doctor charged with possession of weapons he apparently wanted
to use on Islamic community targets, and appealed to the Florida
governor to intervene personally.
Last
week, podiatrist Robert Goldstein, 37, was charged with possession of
bombs and other weapons, which he allegedly planned to use against
Islamic institutions in Florida.
Goldstein
was arrested Thursday at his home in Seminole, Florida, after his
wife, Kristi, 28, called police to say he had threatened to kill her.
He
had left plans outlining how he would destroy an Islamic education
center using bombs, saying “hand to hand is unlikely, but be
prepared to liquidate [Muslims] up close,” and making references to
accomplices, naming one as “Mike.”
Finding
a typed list of about 50 Islamic mosques in the state, and a detailed
plan for bombing an Islamic education center, news agencies report law
enforcement officers found over 30 explosive devices, including hand
grenades and a 5-gallon gasoline bomb with a timer attached, along
with up to 40 licensed weapons, including .50-caliber machine guns and
sniper rifles, at Goldstein’s home.
He
is being held without bail pending a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
Fears
of a larger campaign, involving more than one individual were
addressed by Bush who said there was no indication others were
involved.
“This
appears to be the case of a psychologically unstable individual that
is isolated,” he said, adding that Goldstein was seeking mental
health treatment and was taking anti-psychotic drugs.
U.S.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Special Agent Carlos Baixauli
said Monday no other arrests had been made but would not comment
further.
