Mohammed Atta Trial Opens Today

Nov 20, 2001: Today the civil trial involving Mohammed Atta began in Boston Superior Court. The trial is the first phase of a multi-billion dollar lawsuit Mr. Atta and his colleagues have filed against American Airlines, United Airlines, and the Justice Department. Atta (a resident of Miami, Florida) was denied boarding on American Airlines flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles on the morning of September 11. Also named in the suit are Attorney General John Ashcroft, Boston’s Logan Airport, the Port Authority, and Sean Adams (the man who initially alerted airport police to Mr. Atta’s so-called "suspicious" activities).

On the morning of 9/11, Mr. Adams claims to have had an altercation with Atta in the parking garage of Logan Airport. After words were exchanged, a frazzled Atta ran off to catch his flight to Los Angeles, where he was to attend a work-related meeting. The port police then searched Mr. Atta’s rental car and found several documents (in Arabic) referencing the World Trade Center in New York, along with Mr. Atta's will. Authorities then prevented Mr. Atta and his entourage from boarding their LA-bound flight, causing severe emotional trauma to the group. American Airlines clerk Cindy Keller also contacted port police that morning, after the men (all of Middle Eastern ethnicity) purchased their one-way tickets with cash. After being alerted to this so-called "suspicious" activity (and hearing Mr. Adams’ story) the Port Authority called the FBI and notified them they would be taking Atta and his colleagues into custody for questioning.

After being detained for several hours, Atta was eventually released, but he and his colleagues had already missed their flight and had been humilated by the experience. The ACLU and CIAR are fully behind the lawsuit, accusing authorities of blatant racial profiling. "This is just another example of the Bush Administration creating an atmosphere of divisiveness and hatred in this country. Bush’s fear-mongering is out of control, and innocent people have been hurt" said CIAR spokesman Abraham Cooper. "Furthermore, we’ve now learned that Mr. Atta has several hours of flight training under his belt, which would have made him an ideal passenger on that flight if something unforeseen had happened to the pilot."

In their defense, Logan Airport spokesman Jeff Sullivan said that the port police did everything by the book. However, when Sullivan noted that the would-be passengers were carrying box cutters when they were stopped by port police, Mr. Atta’s attorney pointed out that box cutters are NOT prohibited on U.S. airlines.

On Capitol Hill, congressional Democrats have continued their calls for Attorney General John Ashcroft to step down. "This behavior is outrageous," cried Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. "Mr. Ashcroft has done nothing but fan the flames of fear and hatred against the Muslim community, and it’s time he either stepped down or was fired." DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe has taken it a step further, calling for President Bush’s impeachment. "Bush’s declaration of war on the peaceful American Muslim community is just another trick to take people’s attention away from this horrible recession, a recession which we all know was caused by Bush well before he set foot in office."

The civil trial is expected to take several weeks (after which, depending on the findings, Mr. Adams and port police may face criminal charges). Meanwhile, President Bush’s handling of the economy, combined with his opposition to stem cell research has now pushed his approval ratings to an all-time low. Only 42% surveyed said Bush was doing a "good" or "adequate" job as President.