Calif. father, son held in al-Qaida investigation

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A terrorism investigation in this quiet farming town has led to the arrests of a father and son who said he trained at an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan for potential attacks on U.S. hospitals and supermarkets, authorities said.

Federal investigators believe a number of people committed to al-Qaida have been operating in and around Lodi, a wine-growing region about 30 miles south of Sacramento, FBI Agent Keith Slotter said Wednesday. He would not elaborate.

Slotter added that investigators did not have information about any specific plans for an attack, and the father and son were charged only with lying to federal agents about the son’s training at the al-Qaida camp. Two local Muslim leaders also have been arrested on immigration violations.

The son, Hamid Hayat, was interviewed by the FBI on Friday and at first denied any link to terrorist camps. But the next day he was given a polygraph test and admitted he attended the camp in 2003 and 2004, according to an affidavit by FBI Agent Pedro Aguilar. The Sacramento Bee reported his age as 22; the Los Angeles Times said he is 23.

President’s face on targets
Hayat said photos of President Bush and other American political figures were pasted onto targets during weapons training, the affidavit said. At the end of training, participants were given the opportunity to choose the nation where their attacks would be carried out.

“Hamid advised that he specifically requested to come to the United States to carry out his jihadi mission,” according to an affidavit released through the Justice Department in Washington. “Potential targets for attack included hospitals and large food stores.”

FREE VIDEO Terrorist plot or witch hunt? June 8: The FBI complaint against a father and son is detailed, but members of their mosque say it's a witch hunt. KCRA's Brian Hickey reports from Lodi, Calif. MSNBC

The father, Umer Hayat, lied about his son’s involvement and money he sent for the son’s training, the affidavit said.

A cousin of the younger Hayat, Usama Ismail, said he was in Pakistan with his relative and that Hayat never had terrorist training. He said his cousin went to Pakistan to marry and “never got into politics. All he talked about was cricket.”

“We were always together,” said Ismail, who lives down the street from the Hayats in a modest, blue-collar neighborhood. “He never went anywhere. He was always in the village.”

The father’s attorney, Johnny Griffin III, who called the allegations “shocking,” stressed that his client “is charged with nothing more than lying to an agent.” Neighbors described the elder Hayat as a nice man who sold ice cream during summer months from a van.

The younger Hayat’s attorney was not in court; a message left with the lawyer was not immediately returned.

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