Gladwyn d’SouzaAug 4, 2023

https://www.democracynow.org/2023/7/31/newburgh_four

For the past 14 years, relatives of four men #jailed on #terrorism charges in Newburgh, New York, have accused the FBI of #entrapment. On Thursday, a federal judge agreed and ordered the release of three of the men known as the #NewburghFour: David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen. In a stunning decision, the judge accused the #FBI of inventing a #conspiracy.
To be #exonerated3 #AbolishTheFBI #qualifiedimmunity #corruptscotus #racialprofiling

“<span class="caps">FBI</span>-Orchestrated Conspiracy”: Judge Orders Release of 3 of Newburgh 4 Tied to Fake NY Bomb Plot

For the past 14 years, relatives of four men jailed on terrorism charges in Newburgh, New York, have accused the FBI of entrapment. On Thursday, a federal judge agreed and ordered the release of three of the men known as the Newburgh Four: David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen. The men had been sentenced in 2010 to 25 years in prison for a government-orchestrated bombing plot of a New York synagogue. In a stunning decision, the judge accused the FBI of inventing a conspiracy. With the men set to be released within 90 days, we speak with lawyers Kathy Manley and Stephen F. Downs from the Coalition for Civil Freedoms about the monumental ruling, the legal issues with entrapment and what the ruling means for the many cases like this one. “This was the government’s standard operating procedure right after 9/11,” says Downs. “They were out there going to create as many terrorists as they could to show the public that they were on the job.” The fourth man convicted, James Cromitie, is expected to seek compassionate release.

Democracy Now!
at home in my headJul 28, 2023

#ACAB #NewburghFour #entrapment

From the article:

[The judge] said that it was “heinous” of the men to agree to participate in what she called the government's "made for TV movie.” But, the judge added, "the sentence was the product of a fictitious plot to do things that these men had never remotely contemplated, and that were never going to happen.”

She excoriated the government for sending “a villain” of an informant "to troll among the poorest and weakest of men for ‘terrorists’ who might prove susceptible to an offer of much-needed cash in exchange for committing a faux crime.”

...Citing concerns for the men's health and her own qualms about the case, McMahon cut the 25-year mandatory minimum sentences she imposed on them in 2011 to time served plus 90 days. She said that would allow time for probation officials to prepare and for Payen's lawyer to line up supportive housing for the man, who has a severe mental illness.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-questions-fbis-role-post-223400751.html

Yahooist Teil der Yahoo Markenfamilie

Steve Dustcircle 🌹Jul 28, 2023

Judge orders release of 3 of '#NewburghFour' and assails #FBI's role in a post-#911terror sting

https://ground.news/article/judge-orders-release-of-3-of-newburgh-four-and-assails-fbis-role-in-a-post-9-11-terror-sting_ebf919

Judge orders release of 3 of Newburgh Four and assails FBIs role in a post-9/11 terror sting

Three men convicted in a post-9/11 terrorism sting have been ordered freed from prison by a judge who deemed their lengthy sentences “unduly harsh and unjust” and decried the FBI’s role in radicalizing them in a plot to blow up New York synagogues and shoot down National Guard planes.

Ground News