With the Star Tribune robust support of the U.S. Attorney Andy Luger’s attack on local Somali Americans, the paper has deliberately suppressed the public outcry to the insane prison sentences given to the nine Somali American men “convicted of conspiracy with ISIL.”
How can three out of the nine get longer prison terms than the man who raped and murdered Jacob Wetterling? It is just insane.
We see how thin the case the government had against these young men was when Judge Michael Davis uses “You were lying to your parents” as part of the evidence used to imprison them. Have you ever seen a murderer or rapist get lectured by a judge about lying to his parents and then get a longer prison sentence for lying to them? Is the judge aware that lying to your parents is not against the law? Only a Somali American could get a longer prison sentence for lying to his parents.
And how can only certain people be in trouble for watching ISIS recruitment videos? That is only Black Muslims, because Whites at the FBI and at Andy Luger’s office watch their ISIS videos all the time. Why are they free to watch them but Black Muslims go to prison for watching them?
Are Whites immune to “radicalization”? Why does Andy Luger believe that when he watches these videos it is somehow different than when Somali Americans watch them?
Frank Erickson lives in Minneapolis.
Support Black local news
Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.
