CAMDEN, N.J., May 10, 2007

No Bail For Fort Dix Six

Foreign-Born Men Charged With Plotting Attack On Army Base Considered A Flight Risk

  • Play CBS Video Video Weapons Amassed In Terror Plot

    Police say the suspects in a New Jersey terror cell bought automatic assault weapons to carry out a planned attack on military personnel at the Fort Dix army installation. Bob Orr reports.

  • Video Fort Dix Terror Plot Foiled

    A plot to attack U.S. soldiers at New Jersey's Fort Dix ended in the darkness of early morning when six Muslims were captured by federal authorities. Bob Orr reports.

    • A transport van with blacked out windows is directed into a garage at the Mitchell H. Cohen United States Courthouse in Camden, N.J. Friday, May 11, 2007. United States Marshal James Plousis confirmed that the van carried six Muslim men accused of plotting to massacre U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix military base.

      A transport van with blacked out windows is directed into a garage at the Mitchell H. Cohen United States Courthouse in Camden, N.J. Friday, May 11, 2007. United States Marshal James Plousis confirmed that the van carried six Muslim men accused of plotting to massacre U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix military base.  (AP Photo/Mike Derer)

    • Serdar Tatar, left, is seen in an artist's drawing during a court appearance before Magistrate Joel Schneider, right, at the U.S. District Courthouse in Camden, N.J., Tuesday, May 8, 2007. Tatar is one of six men accused of plotting an attack on Fort Dix Army base.

      Serdar Tatar, left, is seen in an artist's drawing during a court appearance before Magistrate Joel Schneider, right, at the U.S. District Courthouse in Camden, N.J., Tuesday, May 8, 2007. Tatar is one of six men accused of plotting an attack on Fort Dix Army base.  (AP Photo/Andrea Shepard)

    • U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, center, surrounded by federal and state police officials, holds a news conference on the steps of the U.S. District Courthouse in Camden, N.J., on May 8, 2007, to announce the arrests of six men accused of plotting to attack Fort Dix.

      U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, center, surrounded by federal and state police officials, holds a news conference on the steps of the U.S. District Courthouse in Camden, N.J., on May 8, 2007, to announce the arrests of six men accused of plotting to attack Fort Dix.  (AP)

    Previous slide Next slide
  • Interactive Target: Fort Dix

    Authorities say they foiled plot by six men to attack troops on U.S. Army post.

  • Timeline Fort Dix Plot Unravels

    Events leading up to arrest of six men who allegedly planned to kill U.S. military personnel.

  • Interactive America On Guard

    The Homeland Security Department, the terror alert system, preparedness quiz and more.

(CBS/AP)  Six men arrested this week and charged with plotting to massacre soldiers at Fort Dix were ordered held without bail on Friday.

Prosecutors argued that the men, all born outside the United States, pose a flight risk.

The men — four of them ethnic Albanians from the former Yugoslavia, one from Jordan and one from Turkey — have been held at a federal detention center in Philadelphia since their arrest Monday night.

Five of the men are charged with conspiring to kill uniformed military personnel, an offense punishable by life in prison. They are Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, 22; Serdar Tatar, 23; Dritan "Anthony" or "Tony" Duka, 28; Shain Duka, 26; and Eljvir "Elvis" Duka, 23,

Agron Abdullahu, 24, is charged with helping illegal immigrants obtain weapons, and could face 10 years in prison if convicted.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Stigall argued against letting Shnewer be released on bail to the custody of his parents while awaiting trial.

"The problem with this package is that the actions that are alleged were going on at that house," he said.

Friends and relatives of Shnewer offered to post several properties they own worth a total of about $600,000 as collateral to support bail for him.

A more detailed bail hearing will be held next Thursday for Abdullahu, who faces the least serious charges of the six.

Authorities say the men were preparing to buy automatic weapons to use in an attack on Fort Dix when they were arrested. They targeted the Army post, which is 25 miles east of Philadelphia and primarily used to train reservists, partly because one of them had delivered pizzas there and was familiar with the base, according to court filings. The objective: to kill "as many American soldiers as possible."

Read the federal criminal complaint (.pdf)
The men, all in their 20s, have lived in and around Philadelphia for years, worshipped at moderate mosques, have family members close by and worked blue-collar jobs installing roofs, driving a cab, delivering pizzas and baking bread.

Defense lawyers for some of the men said they are considering attacking the prosecution's heavy reliance on two paid informants who infiltrated the group more than a year ago and recorded conversations with the defendants.

Attorney Rocco Cipparone, who is representing defendant Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, whom he described as a "hardworking cab driver," said he'll look into "the role of paid informants and how aggressive they were in potentially prodding or moving things along."

Authorities said they first learned about the men in January 2006 after a tip from a clerk at a Mount Laurel electronics store. The clerk called local police because a home video the men wanted transferred to a DVD looked like it might have terrorist links, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said.

Earlier this year, authorities said, the men took a training trip to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, where they fired weapons and played paintball to prepare for an attack.

In the wake of 9/11, more than 400,000 names have come under one form of government surveillance or another, from watch lists to wiretaps, reported CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian.

© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 39 Comments
by lilbossy May 14, 2007 12:51 PM EDT
Premeditated murders but they are "hard workers"
they say.Illegals who help illegals obtain
weapons.Other news states 3 are born here 2 were
illegal.Are they going to release an illegal
to his illegal mommy and daddy?or WHERE will they release him? Sad when illegals can own
$600,000 worth of proberty.Thanks to thier
friends Bank of a America.Bottom line here
foreigners.Close the borders.
Reply to this comment
by bhappy2-2 May 12, 2007 7:27 PM EDT
I think these idiots should be taken to Guantanamo with the other terrorists, treated the same as if they were captured in Iraq or Afganistan. And when the time comes, execute all of them in the same fashion as so many people in the terrorist countries- behead them in a public area with swords dull enough to require sawing to complete the severing. Any others thinking along the same lines MIGHT think twice before trying it, but I doubt it would stop them. These people live only to kill Americans, by whatever means is available to them. The only way to stop them is to kill them first!
Reply to this comment
by feelfree1 May 11, 2007 10:10 PM EDT
bizzzz,

One more note: I don't consider the neo-fscists that have infested our government to be "conservative".
Reply to this comment
by feelfree1 May 11, 2007 9:56 PM EDT
bizzzz,

Re: "Are you insinuating CBS has become a propaganda tool for the conservatives?"

CBS is a part of the large Western Corporate media empire, Viacom. To think that they don't have a tendency to toe the pro-Corporate line seems pretty naive to me.

Besides, CBS regularly gives voice to overwhelmingly discredited neo-fascistic propaganda publications like the Weekly Standard, and the National Review Online.

CBS also regularly presents unchallenged reports from groups like the SITE Institute, as though these reports are credible, even though the SITE Institute is a pretty obvious and amateurish disinformation factory.
Reply to this comment
by bizzzz-2009 May 11, 2007 9:47 PM EDT
To feelfree1
To answer your question. I don't know why CBS is allowing comments on this "propanganda" story you feel is ridiculous and irrelevant, but not allowing comments on the 23 dead.
Are you insinuating CBS has become a propaganda tool for the conservatives? If so, there probably a couple CBS staffers monitoring this site that are laughing their a$$es off right now.
Reply to this comment
by radiob-2009 May 11, 2007 9:47 PM EDT
Let see they were ten men in the video firing off automatic weapons. They have arrested six men and do not mention the other four in this article. The six men arrested according to authorites were preparing to buy automatic weapons. See pasted quote from article below.
This story has a lot of gaping holes in it.
Poor reporting ?????????????



Authorities say the men were preparing to buy automatic weapons to use in an attack on Fort Dix when they were arrested. They targeted the Army post, which is 25 miles east of Philadelphia and primarily used to train reservists, partly because one of them had delivered pizzas there and was familiar with the base, according to court filings. The objective: to kill "as many American soldiers as possible."


From the previous article

The video showed 10 young men in their early 20s "shooting assault weapons at a firing range ... while calling for jihad and shouting in Arabic 'Allah Akbar' (God is great)," the complaint said. The 10 included the six men who were arrested, authorities said.
Reply to this comment
by petesis May 11, 2007 9:27 PM EDT
Bush policies cause more terrorism than anything. Bin Laden counts on Bush to fill his ranks. And Bush delivers.
Reply to this comment
by feelfree1 May 11, 2007 9:08 PM EDT
I wonder why CBS is allowing comments on this ridiculous and irrelevant propaganda article, while not allowing comments on the "23 Killed In Baghdad Car Bombings" story?
Reply to this comment
by jimc52 May 11, 2007 9:03 PM EDT
What these plotters were forgetting is that if they did this to soldiers in their own respective countries, in an Islamic Nation, they would be thrown off of a minarette, if not have their heads chopped off in a public square (like Saudi Arabia). At least they are getting to keep their lives here, right? Good ole' us, being so humanitarian about the matter. I guess it is the mark of a civilized nation that lets foreign killers and murderers have their lives with dignity. As for the one so "American"...he deserves the same the others are getting. I truely think they should be tried under Islamic Law for the offenses they are guilty of...it might be a signal to other traitors and murderers what they will get in the name of Jihad.
Reply to this comment
by jimc52 May 11, 2007 8:59 PM EDT
What these plotters were forgetting is that if they did this to soldiers in their own respective countries, in an Islamic Nation, they would be thrown off of a minarette, if not have their heads chopped off in a public square (like Saudi Arabia). At least they are getting to keep their lives here, right? Good ole' us, being so humanitarian about the matter. I guess it is the mark of a civilized nation that lets foreign killers and murderers have their lives with dignity. As for the one so "American"...he deserves the same the others are getting. I truely think they should be tried under Islamic Law for the offenses they are guilty of...it might be a signal to other traitors and murderers what they will get in the name of Jihad.
Reply to this comment
by lars008-2009 May 11, 2007 8:29 PM EDT
Appeal for Redress
Sign this Appeal.
This site is an Appeal For Redress in support of our mission in Iraq.
An Appeal For Redress is an authorized means for active duty military to submit a grievance to Congress. It can be signed by Active Duty, Reserve, or National Guard military personnel.
It is authorized by DoD Directive 1325.6 and DoD Directive 7050.6.
The wording of the Appeal for Redress is:
As an American currently serving my nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to fully support our mission in Iraq and halt any calls for retreat. I also respectfully urge my political leaders to actively oppose media efforts which embolden my enemy while demoralizing American support at home. The War in Iraq is a necessary and just effort to bring freedom to the Middle East and protect America from further attack.
If you are active duty, reservist or national guard, please Sign this Appeal.
Most service members fully support the war in Iraq and feel calls to retreat by Congress and attacks by our media on our conduct and mission act to motivate our enemy while demoralizing our support at home, directly increasing the threat we face and resulting in greater American casualties. This Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to Congress to fully support us and actively oppose media attacks on our mission and our morale.
This Appeal will be delivered to members of Congress.
http://www.appealforcourage.org/
Reply to this comment
by bizzzz-2009 May 11, 2007 8:07 PM EDT
No Bail For Fort Dix Six
...In other news, U.S. and German agencies are investigating a potential terror plot against U.S. military bases, buildings and citizens in Germany%u2026..the official said counterterrorism authorities believed Islamic extremists were behind the planning, but the official had no reason to suspect al Qaeda specifically.
I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE PROUD TO BE CALLED A XENOPHOBE THAN I AM TODAY.
Reply to this comment
by salvo19 May 11, 2007 7:53 PM EDT
No mercy for those terrorist plotters. I suggest
the harshest punishment, Death to the devils who
want to destroy this country, and again stop
the illegals, send them home! Or kick their *****
out of here.

cannonball
Reply to this comment
by salvo19 May 11, 2007 7:50 PM EDT
No mercy for those terrorist plotters. I suggest
the harshest punishment, Death to the devils who
want to destroy this country, and again stop
the illegals, send them home! Or kick their *****
out of here.

cannonball
Reply to this comment
by salvo19 May 11, 2007 7:47 PM EDT
No mercy for those terrorist plotters. I suggest
the harshest punishment, Death to the devils who
want to destroy this country, and again stop
the illegals, send them home! Or kick their *****
out of here.

cannonball
Reply to this comment
by mommajomma-2009 May 11, 2007 7:37 PM EDT
hey usadvisor...... it wasnt repubs burning crosses in the south in the 60's , peabrain, it was byrd and cronies. the civil rights act would have folded without republican support.
Reply to this comment
by jt92202 May 11, 2007 6:42 PM EDT
Just take them outside where the world can see them - and put a bullet in their head.

Kill them like the rats they are!


Posted by KEITHGARDNER at 03:14 PM : May 11, 2007

Maybe that will make these people think twice about terrorizing us. I doubt it but it's time we start fighting back. My mom always said 2 wrongs don't make a right but in this case I think we have to fight back every way we can!!!
Reply to this comment
by jt92202 May 11, 2007 6:39 PM EDT
Just take them outside where the world can see them - and put a bullet in their head.

Kill them like the rats they are!


Posted by KEITHGARDNER at 03:14 PM : May 11, 2007

Maybe that will make these people think twice about terrorizing us. I doubt it but it's time we start fighting back. My mom always said 2 wrongs don't make a right but in this case I think we have to fight back every way we can!!!
Reply to this comment
by jt92202 May 11, 2007 6:36 PM EDT
Just take them outside where the world can see them - and put a bullet in their head.

Kill them like the rats they are!


Posted by KEITHGARDNER at 03:14 PM : May 11, 2007

Maybe that will make these people think twice about terrorizing us. I doubt it but it's time we start fighting back. My mom always said 2 wrongs don't make a right but in this case I think we have to fight back every way we can!!!
Reply to this comment
by frankinaz May 11, 2007 6:33 PM EDT
Denying bail to them is the correct action to take, especially to the three illegal immigrants involved in this plot. Although most illegal immigrants come from Mexico and Latin America, there are plenty of people illegally migrating here from other contininents and countries as well, and whether those countries border the U. S. or not.
Arizona has Proposition 100-This is a law that denies bail to illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes; mostly felonies. The immigration status of the accused is supposed to be determined by the court, which then either allows bail to be posted or not. Although any criminal could become a flight risk, those who are here illegally often use their home countries as a safe haven from escaping justice. If illegal immigration is stopped, this country just might
be safer from potential criminals, and those with terrorist intent on their minds.
Reply to this comment
See all 39 Comments

Exclusive Webshow

Michelle Obama tells how her role as the First Lady has changed her perspective. Watch Now

Latest News
News in Pictures
Scroll Left Scroll Right
  • The Fall Of The Berlin Wall The Fall Of The Berlin Wall

    Looking Back at the Wall that Once Divided Germany On the 20th Anniversary of Its Collapse

  • Patricia Clarkson Patricia Clarkson

    Television and Film Actress, Yale School of Drama Graduate and Academy Award Nominee

  • Day in Pictures Day in Pictures

    A Glimpse at the Day's News as Seen Through a Camera Lens

  • Andre Agassi Andre Agassi

    Former Top-Seeded Tennis Star, Gossip Column Favorite and Philanthropist

  • Yankees Victory Parade Yankees Victory Parade

    The Yankees Celebrate Their 27th World Series Championship with a Ticker-Tape Parade Up Broadway

  • Orlando Office Shooting Orlando Office Shooting

    A Gunman Opens Fire at the Offices of an Engineering Firm Where He Once Worked

Connect with CBS News

Stay connected with the CBS News using your favorite social networks and online news applications: