Grand Jury Indicts Former Congressional Candidate Robert Doggart on Terror Plot

The Muslims of America applauds the indictment of admitted would-be mass murderer and failed congressional candidate Robert R. Doggart, who planned to burn down a Muslim school and a mosque, and calls on the Department of Justice to charge him with terror and hate crimes.

Hancock, United States – July 9, 2015 /PressCable/ —

The Muslims of America (TMOA) applauds the indictment of admitted would-be mass murderer Robert R. Doggart of Signal Mountain, TN, and states there is more work to be done.

On June 29, Federal Judge Curtis Collier rejected Robert Doggart’s guilty plea on allegations that he communicated a threat to injure or kill Muslims livingin Holy Islamberg near Hancock, New York. Doggart, 63, a failed congressional candidate, was arrested and charged on April 10 in connection with a plot to organize a militia group of trained gunmen, burn down the school and mosque and “annihilate” the Muslims in Holy Islamberg. Doggart planned to “be cruel” to the residents and to use an M4 rifle, explosives, snipers and butcher innocent Americans with a machete. This information was provided via intercepted telephone calls and Internet activity of the defendant’s by the FBI.

Doggart will be arraigned before Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee on July 13 at 2:00 PM. The indictment is on a charge of solicitation, but Tahirah H. Clark, legal counsel for the religious organization, feels this is insufficient. “The Department of Justice (DOJ) should additionally charge Doggart with domestic terrorism, threat to injure or kill, attempt to burn a religious building and label these as hate crimes,” she stated. “Robert Doggart targeted this community because they are Muslim, therefore his actions must be called ‘hate crimes’.” Additionally, his actions meet the legal elements of domestic terror and he should be so charged. “If the offender were a so-called Muslim extremist, without doubt that person would be charged as a terrorist. With the case of Robert R. Doggart, the tide of the selective prosecution of charging defendants with terror must change,” she stated referring to a growing complaint that Muslim defendants are regularly charged with terror and others are not under similar conditions. “We have every confidence that DOJ will act accordingly and prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law,” she concluded.

Ms. Clark also shared that while Doggart’s accomplices are still unknown to the community, she is calling on the court to release any identifying information on the accomplices to her organization. Court records indicate that an unnamed individual was arrested and charged in South Carolina federal court in connection with the Doggart case. She says her clients never received information about the SC defendant, but they believe the individual is one of the accomplices referenced to in Doggart’s criminal complaint.

On June 23, during an Iftar dinner with President Obama at the White House, a lawyer from the Muslim Advocates, Madihha Ahussain spoke with the President regarding Doggart’s threat toward Islamberg. Ms. Ahussain showed him a picture of the communities’ children in front of a sign, asking “Why do you want to kill us Robert Doggart?” TMOA is appealing to all Americans to call for the DOJ to aggressively pursue hate crime and domestic terrorism charges against Doggart. TMOA will hold a rally in Chattanooga the day of the arraignment. Please visit the website for more information.

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The Muslims of America, Inc. (TMOA) is an indigenous American Muslim organization founded in 1980 and based in the United States of America. TMOA is dedicated to maintaining Islamic principles to be practiced in both letter and spirit by forming communities focused on love for the Almighty Creator and His Commandments, along with the establishment of long-lasting relationships with our Christian brethren through our interfaith programs.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.tmoamerica.org

Contact Info:
Name: Muhammad Matthew Gardner
Email: public.relations@tmoamerica.org
Organization: The Muslims of America, Inc.
Address: 2732 Roods Creek Rd, B-31, Hancock, NY 13783
Phone: (434) 352-1166

Release ID: 86408