Tag Archives: Detroit

Featured, Foreign Policy, Gun Rights

Alleged ISIS Plotter Said He Planned to Target Detroit Church Where Guns ‘Not Allowed’

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Federal Bureau of Investigation officials say that 21-year-old Dearborn Heights, Michigan resident Khalil Abu-Rayyan told an undercover informant that he had planned to carry out a mass shooting on a Detroit church but was foiled when his father discovered evidence of the plot.

WDIV ClickOnDetroit notes that Abu-Rayyan is currently in custody on drug and gun charges in connection with an Oct. 7, 2015 traffic stop in which he was found in possession of marijuana, sleeping pills, and a pistol. He has not been charged with any crimes related to terrorism, though authorities say that such charges might be added in the future.

The FBI had been monitoring Abu-Rayyan’s activities since May of 2015 when he allegedly began liking and sharing ISIS propaganda on Twitter.

[RELATED: Did FBI “Set Up” Capitol Bombing Suspect? They’ve Done It 49 Times Since 9/11!]

According to a criminal complaint filed Thursday by an FBI special agent, Abu-Rayyan spoke with an undercover informant in Dec. of 2015 and reportedly expressed support for ISIS and interest in carrying out a martyrdom operation.

The complaint claimed that Abu-Rayyan told the informant, “I tried to shoot up a church one day. I don’t know the name of it, but it’s close to my job. It’s one of the biggest ones in Detroit. Ya, I had it planned out. I bought a bunch of bullets. I practiced a lot with it. I practiced reloading and unloading. But my dad searched my car one day and he found everything. He found the gun and the bullets and a mask I was going to wear.”

He allegedly told the informant that he singled out the church for a mass shooting inspired by ISIS because, “It’s easy and a lot of people go there. Plus people are not allowed to carry guns in church. Plus it would make the news. Everybody would’ve heard.” The FBI says that Abu-Rayyan did not specify which church, but noted that it has seating for 6,000 people.

[RELATED: FBI Foils ISIS Terror Attacks After THEY Recruit and Plot the Attack?]

FBI officials say that Abu-Rayyan claimed to carry a large knife in his car and said that it is his “dream to behead someone.” The informant also said that Abu-Rayyan had expressed interest in murdering the police officer that arrested him on Oct. 7.

Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Michigan executive director Dawud Walid told The Detroit News, “If the allegations are true, then they’re extremely troublesome,” but that his organization is “encouraging the broader community to also reserve judgment regarding this matter.”

Abuy-Rayyan is set to face a detention hearing on Monday afternoon.

US

Judge orders man to pay $30K in child support for someone else’s child

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A Detroit judge has ruled a man, who was unaware he was a “father,” must pay approximately $30,000 in child support after the man neglected to do so for close to twenty-five years.

In the early 1990’s, Carnell Alexander was pulled over by a police officer and this officer informed Alexander he was under arrest for being a deadbeat father. Alexander, however, was taken aback when he heard he was a deadbeat father, according to WXYZ.

What had happened was an ex-girlfriend of Alexander gave birth to a child in the late eighties, and in order to qualify for welfare assistance to raise the child, she needed to name a father on the appropriate paperwork. Even though the woman was aware Alexander was not the father, according to KFOR, she decided to put his name down anyways.

Usually, when a man is named the father of a child on such paperwork, the state sends a notice to the person via mail. However, Alexander was incarcerated, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections, so he would not have received the notice.

On Tuesday, Alexander went in front of the Third Judicial Circuit Court where Judge Kathleen McCarthy said she was outraged Alexander had failed to take this matter seriously. According to FOX 2 Now, McCarthy said Alexander should have filed a motion long ago to dispute his parentage of the child.

“That motion must be filed within 3 years after the child’s birth, or within one year after the order of filiation is entered,” said McCarthy. “The defendant has failed to to timely file this motion setting aside the acknowledgment of parentage.” It is here the court ruled Alexander must pay the $30,000 in child support for the child, who is now an adult.

According to CBS Detroit, Alexander took a paternity test in 2013 after he had tried to find the mother of the child for many years. The test proved he was not father of the child, but even though this evidence was provided to the courts in the past, they held to their decision to make Alexander pay for the child support. The court also said it would not help his case if he presented the mother of the child for the case.

Alexander acknowledges he may owe the money according to the fine print of the law, but he will not believe the fine print of the law is right. “The law is not going to fit into everybody’s situation,” said Alexander. “Why don’t they use common sense?”

Politics, US

Detroit Citizen Dubbed “Batman” for Armed Neighborhood Watch Patrols

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Detroit’s economic collapse has left neighborhoods abandoned across the once-thriving Motor City. Its municipal budget crisis has caused a wide array of funding problems for city services like police protection, meaning citizens are often left on their own to deal with crimes in progress. MSN Money noted that 911 response times for top-priority crimes have been taking up to 58 minutes, leaving Detroit residents with no choice but to look for alternatives when violent criminals attack. This situation recently reached a boiling point when a citizen who called 911 emergency services to report a break-in in progress was placed on hold for over 30 minutes. Detroit Police Chief James Craig has also made comments encouraging residents to arm themselves against the city’s crime wave.

WXYZ-TV ABC 7 Detroit is reporting that local resident Walter Gildersleeve, frustrated with high levels of crime in the largely-abandoned neighborhoods on the city’s west side, has created his own group called Detroit Street Watchers that conducts armed neighborhood watch patrols. Gildersleeve, who has been dubbed “Batman” by a student who saw him patrolling near a school, posts videos of all of his crime-fighting encounters on his YouTube channel. He has a Concealed Pistol License and also open carries when on patrols.

Walter Gildersleeve, while announcing his activities on a loudspeaker to members of the community, described his mission as “making sure no one is in these abandoned houses, taking back our street, our community.” He often checks on abandoned properties on behalf of landlords, keeping an eye out for vandals, squatters, and arsonists, and also works to deter the robberies, murders, car thefts, and assaults that plague the area.

His crime-fighting quest began when he participated in a missing persons search in which the missing young girl’s body was never found. Gildersleeve told WXYZ-TV, “I remember a search a few years ago for a baby girl, Bianca. I got into that search for her. I got real emotional. We never found her, but I never gave up.”

In the above-embedded CNN/WXYZ-TV video coverage, a neighborhood resident named Cathryn said, “We’ve got a real man out here protecting the streets.” When asked if Gildersleeve’s presence made her feel safe, she said, “Yes.”

Featured, Health, International, Politics

UN Considers Providing Relief To Detroit Water Customers To Help Pay Their Bills

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Detroit, MI – On July 1, 2014, new water and sewage rates will be applied and Detroit’s water bills will be increased by 8.7%. The Detroit City Council voted in favor of this increase, amidst criticism from the public about their efforts to shut off the water services of negligent customers.

According to the Lansing State Journal, Detroit’s water department said it would, “target customers whose bills are more than two months late and would shut off about 3,000 customers a week.”

Many are taking the initiative to speak their opinion about the current state of affairs in Detroit, using Social Media.

Kathy Ward posted on Facebook, “This is just insane. If someone is that destitute that they truly cannot afford their water bill, there are already welfare programs in place for that. I’m guessing those same people not paying their water also have a TV, cable, I-phone, etc. People need to get their priorities straight, not expect another government handout.”

According to CBS Detroit, there is talk that the United Nations might help the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department provide service to struggling customers, but nothing has been decided as of late.

Rodney Carter took to Facebook to write, “Call President Obama. He has plenty of taxpayers’ cash to spend. Wasn’t that a campaign promise he made along with free rent and gas and payin’ my car note…Socialism only works if there is someone to pay for it.”

While the nation’s average water bill is about $40 a month, Detroit’s average rate is about $75 a month, according to the Free Press.  Of course the issue becomes cyclical.  Detroit charges so much for water so that paying customers can offset those who don’t pay.  The high rates become a form of redistribution in and of themselves.

“If there are programs available to help these families, I am all for it. God has blessed me with ability to pay my bills so being hateful towards those who aren’t able is just not in me,” Calvin Adkins posted on Facebook. “Yes, there are able bodies out there abusing the system. And those individuals should be sought out. But before we go after those people, how about we go after the real welfare abusers. The elected officials, oil companies, insurance companies, banks, Wall Street. Because those abusers are the biggest beneficiaries of our hard work and tax dollars. Stop kicking those who are already down.”

Curtrise Garner, a spokesperson for Detroit’s water department, agrees water is “a God-given right.” However, she says there is still the cost of moving water from its resource to the customer, which must be paid.

“We do have programs that do help those that are just totally in need,” said Garner. “If they do contact us we are willing to speak with them.”

Garner went on to point out that there were still customers who may not have as great of a need for funding as they claimed. She explained, “We know this because, once we shut water off, the next day they are in paying the bill in full. So we do know that that has become a habit as well.”

“We owe it to the customers that are paying to collect from those that aren’t. Somebody has to pay for the water,” said Garner.

Politics, US

Obama begins multi-million dollar Detroit bailout

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DETROIT, April 18, 2014– One hundred million dollars in taxpayer money is on its way to Detroit.

Only sixteen short months have passed since Obama took credit for Detroit averting bankruptcy.  “We refused to let Detroit go bankrupt. We bet on American workers and American ingenuity, and three years later, that bet is paying off in a big way,” said Obama in a reelection campaign speech. It was October, 2012. Obama won reelection. Detroit became the largest city in United States history to file for bankruptcy only nine months after Obama’s speech.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steve Rhodes delivered the ruling, which declared Detroit could move forward with its plans for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, only five months after the filing. According to Judge Rhodes, “This situation has proved unworkable.” Detroit is more than $18 billion in debt.

With taxpayers exhibiting visceral reactions at even the slightest hint of a bailout, the Obama administration ensured Americans no more bailouts. In February, Gene Sperling, the director of the White House National Economic Council, announced that the administration would not bailout Detroit. Sperling called the prospects of a bailout “non viable” and said it would be misleading to float the idea of a bailout.

Regardless of the rhetoric, the bailout addicted administration has been stealthily executing a bailout of the city’s endangered pension funds.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Obama plans to send Detroit approximately $100 million to relieve the city’s pension funds. The report points to Obama’s tough mid-term prospects while stating that he and Democrats have been “under pressure from unions” not to let government retirees suffer in Detroit.

On Wednesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney declined to comment about the report.

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Politics, US

Breaking News: Judge Rules On Detroit Bankruptcy- “Situation Unworkable”

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Detroit

By Michael Lotfi,

The largest municipal bankruptcy in history was just allowed to move forward. US Bankruptcy Judge Steve Rhodes delivered the ruling, which declared the city could move forward with its plans for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. Judge Rhodes ruled that objectors must appeal directly to the 6th Circuit and file separate motions. According to Judge Rhodes, “This situation has proved unworkable.” The struggling city is more than $18 billion in debt. The Detroit Free Press is updating live from the courthouse.

According to exiting Detroit Mayor Bing, “There’s going to be a lot of pain for a lot of different people. But in the long run, the future will be bright.” Last Summer the city first filed for bankruptcy after struggling for years to make payments to debtors. The city made headlines for pushing through plans to construct a new $444 million hockey arena for the Detroit Red Wings with taxpayer money.

Last election cycle, President Obama praised Detroit and stated that because of his policies the city wouldn’t go bankrupt. “We refused to let Detroit go bankrupt. We bet on American workers and American ingenuity, and three years later, that bet is paying off in a big way,” President Obama said in a weekly address.

Follow Michael Lotfi On Facebook & Twitter: @MichaelLotfi