Terror groups here in Hudson County?

by The Jersey Journal
July 20, 2008, 6:20 PM

Sure, you probably never heard of the Nazi Low Riders or the Militia Men of Montana.

How about al-Qaida or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)?

Well even if you never heard of them, 15 of these internationally-known terror organizations have heard of you, and least as recent as five years ago, could have been operating here in Hudson County, according to information uncovered by the American Civil Liberties Union to be reported in tomorrow's Jersey Journal by Paul Koepp.

Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, which had been seeking the disclosure of the list of "potential threat elements" municipalities listed to get federal homeland security funding - and reassurance that individuals and houses of worship were not targeted - reached a settlement with the state Attorney General's Office that did not identify the groups.

The state provided a list of 59 known terrorist groups and said 14 of those named by Hudson County were on it, while the fifteenth is a well-recognized criminal organization with its roots in El Salvador and Guatemala.

"Our main concern was the way the (Hudson County) list was put together," said Gary Nissenbaum, attorney for the ACLU. "It had no oversight and had no checks and balances from the judiciary. "Therefore anyone could have been put on the list and no one would know it."