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A story from the Nov. 8, 2001 Daily Oklahoman
A Norman man in jail on a weapons charge once belonged to a
radical Islamic group whose members hated the United States, a
confidential informant told the FBI in 1995.

Mujahid Abdulqaadir Menepta, 51, also once threatened to shoot
any police officer who entered the prayer area of a mosque, an
unidentified University of Oklahoma student told the FBI.

Menepta was arrested Oct. 11 by the FBI as a material witness in
connection to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He was first detained
because of his friendship with Zacarias Moussaoui, who continues to
be held in New York as a material witness. Moussaoui, 33, attended a Norman flight school earlier this year
before moving to Minnesota to receive training at the Pan Am
International Flight Academy. He was arrested Aug. 17 on an
immigration violation.

An instructor in Minnesota became suspicious of Moussaoui, a
French citizen, because he wanted to practice steering - but not
landing - a jumbo jet simulator. French intelligence later informed
American authorities that Moussaoui had connections to "radical
Islamic extremists" and made multiple trips to the Middle East.

After Menepta's arrest, the FBI found three weapons and more
than 600 rounds of ammunition in his Norman home. Federal
prosecutors charged him with being a convicted felon in possession
of firearms.

In an Oct. 2 interview with The Oklahoman , Menepta called
Moussaoui a scapegoat.

"I don't think he is a terrorist," Menepta said. "I understand
terrorism quite well. I am a victim of terror, America's terror. I
am a descendant of slaves."

Menepta is not accused of being involved in the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. But during a federal court hearing Wednesday an
agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
testified that a confidential informant described Menepta as violent.

The source surfaced in 1995 the day after the Murrah Building
was bombed in Oklahoma City. ATF agent Jeffrey Whitney testified
the OU student told the FBI about his association with an Islamic
group in Norman and St. Louis whose leaders suggested committing
terrorist acts and killing law enforcement officers.

The informant said he traveled to St. Louis in the summer of
1994 and met Menepta, Whitney testified. The informant claimed he
saw weapons in Menepta's home, the agent testified.

A St. Louis police officer once entered a mosque, according to
the informant, and Menepta later vowed to shoot any police officer
who entered the prayer area, Whitney testified.

Whitney also testified some telephone numbers traced from cell
phones seized during a search of Menepta's home and car are
associated with ongoing criminal investigations in St. Louis;
Kansas City; Detroit; El Paso, Texas; and Oklahoma City. The
investigations involve organized crime, drugs and money laundering,
he testified.

Menepta's relationship with Moussaoui was not mentioned during
Wednesday's hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Richter presented
the evidence to persuade U.S. Magistrate Gary Purcell that Menepta
is a danger to the community and should remain in jail.

Menepta's attorney, Federal Public Defender Susan Otto,
questioned the informant's credibility. She called the evidence
"speculation and supposition" and said it never resulted in anyone
being charged with a crime.

Whitney testified Menepta claimed the Secret Service told him
that his visa number was used by one of the terrorists who bombed
the World Trade Center in 1993. Whitney said he could not confirm
that information.

Menepta's prior felony conviction was 30 years ago for
aggravated robbery in Colorado. He served almost four years in
prison before being paroled in 1974 after his arrest for armed
robbery and desertion from the military. His name at the time was
Melvin Lattimore.

Menepta changed his named in 1989 after his conversion to Islam.
Born in the United States, he made a trip to Pakistan in 1990. He
told the FBI he went to Pakistan to study Islam.

In 1998, Menepta received a one-year suspended sentence in
Missouri after being convicted of unlawful use of a weapon. Whitney
testified Menepta was arrested in St. Louis at a demonstration
carrying a concealed weapon.

Purcell ruled there is sufficient evidence for Menepta to be
tried on the weapons charge. He ordered Menepta to remain in
federal custody, citing his prior criminal conviction and history
of marijuana and cocaine use.

The judge also noted Menepta's unstable domestic life and
limited financial resources. Menepta has been married six times and
is $ 200,000 in debt.

The guns found in Menepta's home were a loaded .380
semiautomatic pistol, a loaded Chinese semiautomatic rifle and a
12-gauge shotgun.