Imam's death reignites Gitmo worries

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By Andrea Billups and Audrey Hudson

LANSING, Mich. | The deadly shootout near Detroit involving the FBI and the leader of a radical Sunni Muslim group has fueled already simmering fears of some residents in Standish, Mich., where a proposal to move Guantanamo Bay detainees to an empty maximum security prison is dividing the community.

"Hopefully, this is a wake-up call," said Dave Hertzberg, supervisor of Lincoln Township, where federal officials have toured the Standish Maximum Correctional Facility as a possible site to hold more than 200 Muslim jihad suspects.

"It's very scary, and I just hope it opens some eyes up here," he told The Washington Times on Thursday of the FBI raid Wednesday just two hours away.

Also Thursday, federal officials issued a warning that the shooting death of Ummah leader Luqman Ameen Abdullah may engender retaliatory violence against police there and in the Washington area, though law enforcement officials played the warning down as a routine measure.

"Abdullah's death and associated arrests may foster resentment, violent rhetoric and threats from Ummah adherents," said the raw intelligence document from the Washington Regional Threat and Analysis Center (WRTAC), which was obtained by The Times. "Because of the group's anti-law enforcement sentiments, law enforcement officers should be particularly mindful of this change in the threat environment and the possibility for retaliation."

FBI agents attempted to arrest Abdullah and members of his group on weapons charges when Abdullah pulled a gun, refused orders to drop the weapon and then fatally shot an FBI canine. Abdullah was then killed by FBI fire, according to court documents.

Fears of putting hundreds of Muslim terror suspects in Standish are exacerbated by the area's being a few hours' drive from Dearborn, the site of Wednesday's shooting and of America's heaviest concentrations of Muslims and Arabs.

Lincoln Township passed a resolution opposing the transfer of prisoners from the detention facility at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Michigan.

The Standish prison is set to close for good Saturday. President Obama has called for closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison by his first anniversary in office and, although some have said that target likely will be missed, others are concerned that state and national officials have been far too quiet on future plans.

Mr. Hertzberg said he has been told that a decision will be coming within two weeks, but that his calls to the Department of Defense and elected officials have not given him specifics on a future deal. He and others in Standish say they fear that a lot is happening behind closed doors because few in power are talking.