Saadiq Long is a U.S. Air Force veteran of ten years, an American citizen and Muslim convert who is now enlisting the services of the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to sue the Oklahoma City Police Department.
If the name Saadiq Long sounds familiar, it is because he has been in and out of the news for several years now. His public story began in 2012, when he wanted to travel from his home in Qatar back to the U.S. to visit his dying mother. It was then that he discovered that he was on the no-fly list, although he professed to have no idea why. After months of effort, he was successful in being temporarily removed from the no-fly list, and flew from Qatar to the U.S..
Saadiq Long was under the direction of CAIR at the time. He said:
Under the direction of CAIR, you know, that needed to be done so that they could, I guess, get it out in the media…
According to investigative journalist Patrick Poole, Long had more bad luck after he returned to Oklahoma:
After an incident with local police and the FBI, Long was apparently placed back on the no-fly list, preventing his return to Qatar.
After that, and with the help of CAIR, Saadiq Long went on the Chris Hayes show to say:
I have no idea [why he may be on a list].
Sometime after his appearance on the Chris Hayes show, Saadiq Long took a bus across the border and flew out of Mexico, headed for home in Qatar. And that should have been the end of it.
But the star-crossed Mr. Long was in the news again two years later when Turkish authorities arrested him as part of an ISIS cell.
U.S. and Turkish officials confirmed Long’s arrest to PJ Media, saying that he was arrested along with eight others operating along the Turkish-Syrian border. So far, no U.S. media outlet has reported on his arrest.
Although he was never charged, Saadi Long and several members of his family spent weeks in Turkish custody before they deported him to the U.S.
There is no doubt that the Turks deported Saadiq Long. The ABC affiliate KOCO reported that he was accused of not having a visa to enter Turkey.
The CBS affiliate in Oklahoma, KWTV reported that he was deported because he was on the Turkish no-fly list.
The Intercept told us that Long was planning on moving to Turkey.
In mid-November, Long attempted to enter Turkey along with his wife and daughter to explore the possibility of relocating there from Qatar, where Long has lived and worked for many years teaching English.
There seems little doubt he was relocating to Turkey. He took his whole family without checking his visa beforehand, almost like he was rushing.
Any plans on living in Turkey are probably out now since Turkey deported him, and it makes one wonder why he left Qatar.
Well, whatever the reason for that may have been, he is back in Oklahoma now, and that should be the end of it.
However, trouble continues to follow Mr. Long, who claims police have stopped him four times in one month. The police tell him:
Let me tell you why, so you have an understanding. The vehicle has been listed a NCIC hit and it is giving us a hit on the car itself so, whenever your tag is ran it automatically alerts us this vehicle is under suspicion for right now a terrorist watchlist.
Now, today again, under the direction of CAIR, Long is suing the OKCPD, and the individual officers involved in the stops.
As for the lawsuit against OKCPD, the department tells us it will not comment on pending litigation.
So of course CAIR will use that as an opportunity to hold press conferences and get on TV to try its case in the media. There are many examples of CAIR manipulating the media in this way. Here is an unrelated broadcast that even includes a poll to gauge the effectiveness of CAIR’s presentation.
The obvious problem is that we are not getting the full picture from the media or CAIR.
Not clearing the air about Saadiq’s deportation from Turkey is devastating to his cause. Because now we are left with our suspicion that extra attention in this case is warranted. That is the fault of CAIR and the compliant media.
As Robert Spencer has said before on this case:
It’s likely that these people have a solid case. There is no reason to think that the government would manage the Terrorist Screening Database and the No Fly List in a just and transparent manner. It is unfortunate, however, that the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is involved, as its emphasis is so decisively upon the putative victimhood of Muslims that even Osama bin Laden would likely not have been on the No Fly List if CAIR operatives had been running it.
We do not know why Saadiq Long is on a list. We do not know if he belongs on this list or not. We do not know what happened in Turkey or why Long came to the U.S. and not Qatar.
Saadiq Long’s claim he has “no idea” why this is happening to him. Well, neither does anyone else. And we are finding less reason to care after he got a group to handle his public image that also wants to destroy the Terrorist Screening Database.
Saadiq Long makes a lot of poor decisions and gets in trouble everywhere he goes.
If the intension of these broadcasts was to get the public to side with Saadiq Long, it isn’t working. These recent reports about Long are more manipulative than informative to anyone who is following this story.
CAIR and the narrative-driven media have only darkened the cloud of suspicion that follows Saadiq Long. The actions of CAIR and its affinity with al Qaeda agents, ISIS brides and other suspicious characters is becoming a national security issue. Yet it is apparently going to take some real harm, even more than the harm that has been done to Sadiq Long’s reputation, before local newscasters stop following CAIR’s directions.
“Lawsuit claims Oklahoma City Police Department unfairly targeted Muslim American Air Force Veteran,” by Lauren Daniels, KFOR,
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma’s Council on American-Islamic Relations has filed a lawsuit against the Oklahoma City Police Department, claiming a American Muslim Air Force veteran is being targeted by the department.
Representatives for Saadiq Long say he’s been pulled over multiple times over the last several months and now they’re demanding answers.
“Our client, Saadiq Long, is a law abiding American citizen,” said Hannah Mullen, Attorney for CAIR. “He was born here in Oklahoma and served his country in the Air Force for 11 years. He pays his taxes, works hard and provides for his family. They are frightened that one day when Sadiq gets in his car to go to work or to run errands, he won’t come home.”
Attorneys from CAIR-Oklahoma say Long is on the FBI’s terror watch list, but he has no idea why.
“He has never been investigated, indicted, tried or convicted of any crime,” Mullen said. “The federal government has never provided any explanation for turning his life upside down and placing him on that list.”
CAIR claims every law enforcement agency in the country has access to the list but they believe OKCPD is using it to justify illegal traffic stops.
“The Oklahoma City Police Department uses cameras called automated license plate readers,” Mullin said. “It scans the license plates of every car that drives past them. When Saadiq drives past one of those police cameras, the system automatically alerts officers that Saadiq is on the watch list without providing any other information at all.”
“There’s no there’s nothing in Oklahoma law that compels the Oklahoma City Department to accept the terrorist watch list and to use it in any particular way and so that’s the issue that this lawsuit is about,” said Gadeir Abbas, Attorney for CAIR. “It’s about how the Oklahoma City Police Department is using the FBI secret racist list to pull innocent people over.”…
