A Portland, Ore., lawyer arrested in connection with the Madrid terror attacks was released yesterday when after evidence pointed to another suspect, reports the Associated Press. Brandon Mayfield, 37, was free two weeks after his arrest.
Spanish officials said fingerprints on a bag near the bombing site in Spain were those of an Algerian. U.S. authorities had said Mayfield’s prints were on the bag, which contained explosive detonators similar to those used in the March 11 bombings that killed 191 people and injured 2,000 others.
Mayfield, a convert to Islam, recited the Muslim prayer: “God is great. There is no God but God.” Public defender Steve Wax said that a gag order issued by a federal judge remained in place. “The reality of this case is that some breaks in that secrecy – some leaks – have been quite harmful to Mr. Mayfield,” he said. Mayfield was arrested on a material witness warrant, which allows the government to hold a potential suspect without formally charging them.
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