Attorney General Eric Holder has struck back against criticism that the FBI has targeted Muslims in a series of undercover stings, telling a Muslim group that those who allege government entrapment “simply do not have their facts straight,” the Washington Post reports. Holder backed the FBI’s investigation of an Oregon man charged with trying to detonate a bomb at a tree-lighting ceremony. FBI technicians supplied the device, leading some Muslims and civil libertarians to question whether agents went too far by training the man for terrorism.
“Mr. Mohamud’s arrest was the result of a successful undercover operation – a critical and frequently used law enforcement tool,” Holder told the Muslim Advocates in San Francisco. “Because of law enforcement’s outstanding work, Mr. Mohamud is no longer plotting attacks. He is now behind bars. And he will be brought to justice.”