Even though it is still a hoax, do bomb threats like these still
pose a danger by starting a dangerous stampede of tourists scampering for
safety?
By: Ringo Bones
Given the dirty bomb and anthrax bomb attack scares by Al
Qaeda on US soil during the first decade of the 21st Century, the
zero tolerance policy adopted by law enforcement agencies on such attack scares
– even hoax ones – seem justified. But such draconian policies prove an
effective deterrent of such “antisocial activities” such as the recent Statue
of Liberty bombing hoax?
Earlier this year, a man who identified himself as a 1993
World Trade Center bombing conspirator and then threatened to blow up the
Statue of Liberty back in April 24, 2015 has finally been arrested on
Wednesday, August 19, 2015 by the FBI. Jason Paul Smith, 42, was charged with
conveying false and misleading information and hoaxes and could face a 5-year
prison sentence. According to a court complaint, Smith said in a 911 call that
he was Abdul Yasin, the only conspirator not captured of the 1993 attack on the
World Trade Center. Mr. Smith was recently arrested in Lubbock, Texas where he
is charged with conveying false and misleading information and hoaxes the
authorities said.
Jason Paul Smith of Harts, West Virginia, said he was Mr.
Yasin and an “ISI terrorist” when he called 911 from his i-Pad to say “that ‘we’
were preparing to blow up’ the Statue of Liberty,” and FBI special agent
Alexander Hirst wrote in a complaint filed in the United States District Court
in Manhattan. A federal public defender did not respond to a message seeking
comment on the case. The call on April 24, 2015 led to an evacuation of Liberty
Island and bomb-sniffing dogs have been brought to make a sweep. The Statue of
Liberty was reopened to tourists the next day after no bomb or other deadly
device was found. According to FBI agent Hirst, Mr. Smith, who attended a
school for deaf and blind students used a service for the hearing impaired in
contacting 911 to place his hoax emergency call that got prioritized and thus
was only later found out to be a hoax call.
