“In an especially troubling incident,” Chaudry reported, “the Bush administration recently authorized raids on homes and businesses of 24 Muslim organizations and individuals. When these houses and offices were raided at least 15 agents rushed in simultaneously and searched the homes and offices for up to 11 hours.”
He continued, “Can you imagine the horror when innocent law abiding American citizens would hear a knock on the door only to see a group of 10 to 15 government agents with guns telling them to put their hands up? These individuals were treated like suspects from the beginning. They were handcuffed for hours while their homes were ransacked and private property confiscated. Even items that had no relationship to anything were confiscated, like children’s computer games, Social Security cards, jewelry, wedding invitation cards and puzzles. Most of these confiscated items have yet to be returned.
“A magistrate recently denied the request of these groups to return their property and to unseal the affidavit that authorized these searches. Government officials revealed in the same hearing that they have yet to detail all the items confiscated in these raids.”
He continued, “Can you imagine the horror when innocent law abiding American citizens would hear a knock on the door only to see a group of 10 to 15 government agents with guns telling them to put their hands up? These individuals were treated like suspects from the beginning. They were handcuffed for hours while their homes were ransacked and private property confiscated. Even items that had no relationship to anything were confiscated, like children’s computer games, Social Security cards, jewelry, wedding invitation cards and puzzles. Most of these confiscated items have yet to be returned.
“A magistrate recently denied the request of these groups to return their property and to unseal the affidavit that authorized these searches. Government officials revealed in the same hearing that they have yet to detail all the items confiscated in these raids.”