Man taking photos of I-80 bridge found to be on terror watch list

Philly.com ^

[silverleaf]

Couple of years ago in Maryland there was a muslim who drove his family all the way over here from Virginia to take pictures of the Chesapeake Bay bridge, too

for “fun”

[Palladin]

You don’t stop at the bridge to get photos of the Gap. There is a designated parking and viewing scenic pull-off for that purpose.

[El Gato]

Pennsylvania police officials say they were miffed, and concerned, over the apparent time lapse in reporting the incident.

NJ Gestapo state police too busy looking for firearms owned by American Citizens. And keeping tabs on the Governor?

[NavyCanDo]

“Did the police take a picture of the man taking a picture or what?”

A picture would not do much good. These guys a good, very good at disappearing. Their still looking for the two men seen on several Washington State Ferries and they had great photos of those guys.

[silverleaf]

Christine says authorities didn't learn that the man was on the FBI watch list until later.

WHAT a steaming pile of horse pucky. Six years after 9-11 and this is the best we can do?

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

Yeah, the nice pics of the Gap are not from the bridge area. I am in Warren County NJ and have lived about 20 miles from that bridge my whole life.

[Smokin' Joe]

What isn't mentioned in this article is that the I-80 bridge is right in the Delaware Water Gap, a very scenic area where the Delaware cuts through a ridge. So the guy did have a tourist reason to be taking photos.

Good point, but one question. Is it a non-redundant structure like the bridge in Minneapolis was?

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

You are correct Palladin. The great pics of the Gap do not come from the bridge area.

[edsheppa]

It is unacceptable that the NJ police couldn’t find, out on the spot, this guy was on the watch list. It is the kind of simple infrastructure that could save a lot of lives and deal strong blows to the enemy.

[El Gato]

Are we going to start detaining every tourist who takes pictures of a bridge, or the Statue of Liberty, or the Washington Monument, or any other national landmark that happens to be both a tourist attraction and a potential terrorism target

Detaining? He wasn't detained. The police asked him what he was doing. Given that he probably looked like his name could be Mohammed, Achmed or Osama, that would seem a reasonable thing to do. Folks who look like they might be named Sven, Olaf, or Helmut are not the current threat.

Check out a middle eastern appearing guy scoping out a bridge, yea that's reasonable, and no violation of anyone's rights. Arresting him, without any other cause, that would be.

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

Yes. It is a plain bridge with a toll booth on one side of it. You can see the river, but the scenic pics of the Water Gap are taken at the pull of areas not at the bridge.

[cynwoody]

Are we going to start detaining every tourist who takes pictures of a bridge

Is this the bridge?

Has legislation been passed that makes photography of landscapes or landmarks an offense that is probable cause for detention?

Of course not. But when a wog is acting suspiciously, it wouldn't hurt to check his immigration status and, if irregularities are found, send him south for some close personal attention from the staff at Club Gitmo.

[Palladin]

I’ve been over that bridge hundreds of times to visit relatives in NY. I even have photos from the scenic overlook. I’ll post them if I can find them.

I also have a nephew who is on the NJ State Police force. Those guys are sharp. They may have let the suspect go, but I’m sure they have a tail on him.

[milford421]

bump

[rsflynn]

There is nothing special about the I80 bridge over the Delaware Water Gap from an architectural standpoint. So why would someone, who was on the watch list, be photographing an ugly bridge? Other than the fact that this bridge handles a ton of commerce for the East coast. Nice try bud, take another toke and let the adults worry about the security of this nation.

[El Gato]

The fact that his name showed up on the terrorist watch list is interesting, but it does not mean that the cops who questioned him should have done more, unless we intend to make it a crime for tourists to take pictures in our country.

If the policeman had gotten the information that he was on the watch list, and thereby suspected of terrorist connections, would *that* have been enough to stop and detain him? I say it would. You'd have established that he was not a citizen, and that he should not be in the country. That's enough to deport him at the very least.

[VRWCmember]

Check out a middle eastern appearing guy scoping out a bridge, yea that's reasonable, and no violation of anyone's rights. Arresting him, without any other cause, that would be.

Exactly my point. They had reason to question him, ask what he was doing, etc. But they had no reason to go any further than that, yet some on this thread seem to think that since he wasn't shipped off to Gitmo until his identity could be confirmed the police were acting with a September 10 mentality.

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

The NJ Troopers do not usually let someone go like this.

Hell, a long while back, I forgot to pay a ticket and they tracked me down.

[airborne]

We didn’t lose him.

We let him walk free!

[Cementjungle]

Inside the former Soviet Union a foreign tourist would get arrested on the spot for photographing a bridge, any bridge.

I got away with taking this picture outside Moscow in the early 80's while on a bicycle trip: