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| FBI will do 'threat assessment' of prisons |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 09/12/2005 |
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FBI agents nationwide have been ordered to conduct "threat assessments" of inmates who might have become radicalized in prison and could commit extremist violence upon their release, according to an FBI letter obtained by The Associated Press. "The primary goal of these efforts is to assess and disrupt the recruitment and conversion of inmates to radicalized ideologies which advocate violence," according to a letter from the acting assistant chief of the FBI's Los Angeles office, Randy D. Parsons. The agency has been concerned since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that groups with extremist ideologies may be targeting felons as prime candidates for conversion during their time in prison. The FBI has worked with prison officials to identify potentially disruptive groups for "some time," according to the letter. "However, recent investigations have identified a clear need to increase the FBI's focus and commitment in this area," Parsons wrote in the letter, which was dated Friday and obtained Tuesday by the AP. He said the FBI wants to increase its efforts to "identify, report, analyze and disrupt efforts by extremist persons or groups to radicalize, recruit or advocate for the purpose of violence within correctional facilities." Laura Eimiller, spokeswoman for the FBI's Los Angeles office, and Denise Ballew, an FBI spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., declined to comment on the letter. The order comes as the investigation continues into whether a suspected Southern California terror plot originated in a state prison in Folsom, near Sacramento. Three Los Angeles area men, including a parolee from California State Prison, Sacramento, are suspected of plotting attacks on Jewish and National Guard sites. FBI director Robert Mueller warned the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee in February that prisons are "fertile ground for extremists," but FBI officials have declined to disclose steps they are taking. Karen Ernst, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Sacramento office, confirmed her office is participating. Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, said he worries that some inmates are forming radical groups and "putting a veneer on it and calling it Islam." On the contrary, he said many inmates emerge less violent after adopting religion in prison. Authorities said they believe the Southern California plan originated in a shadowy group at the Folsom prison known as Jamiyyat Ul Islam Is Saheeh. Counterterrorism officials in California have said they suspect a list found in Washington's Los Angeles apartment contained potential terrorist targets, although Washington has not been charged with a terrorism-related crime. The list included National Guard recruiting stations, synagogues and the Israeli Consulate. |
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