Free Republic

Nearly 50 years ago, Randy Bachman's Gretsch guitar – on which he wrote "American Woman" and other hits — was stolen from a hotel in Toronto. Decades later, the instrument has been returned to him by a Japanese musician who had bought it at a store in Tokyo, unaware of its history. Bachman, former guitarist for the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, was understandably distraught when he first noticed the guitar had gone missing in 1977. It was the first expensive instrument he'd ever bought as a teenager, having worked odd jobs to save up the $400 for it. "I...

“The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response” Committee on Homeland Security - US House of Representatives March 10, 2011 Thank you very much for allowing me to come here and tell the country what happened to my son. This hearing today is extremely important to begin the discussion about the issue of Islamic radicalization in America and my hope is that this Committee can somehow address this issue in a meaningful, productive way. First, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the family of Private William Long, and to the wounded soldier,...

State legislation known as “Andy’s Law” stiffens criminal penalties for terrorism and material support for terrorism. It is needed on the state level because our bureaucratized counterterrorism apparatus on the federal level is routinely reluctant to bring terrorism charges in cases that are clearly terrorism. The law also creates a civil cause of action empowering victims of terrorism to sue in state court those who provide material support and aid those who commit acts of terrorism. Andy’s Law has already passed into law in Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, North Carolina and Tennessee. It is called Andy’s Law after Private Andy Long,...

Delusion guided accused shooter of soldiers at Little Rock recruiting centerPsychiatrist says reality was lost on Muhammad By Kristina Goetz Memphis Commercial Appeal Posted July 23, 2011 at midnight LITTLE ROCK -- The star defense witness in the capital murder trial of Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad said Friday that the defendant believes he is persecuted because he's Muslim and that his actions are more important than they really are -- all because he suffers from a delusional disorder. "Saying you're an operative of a major terrorist organization is grandiose," said Dr. Shawn Agharkar, a psychiatrist who examined Muhammad three times in...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A convert to Islam who wanted a big stage to espouse his political beliefs won't be able to speak directly to jurors after a judge ruled he can't serve as his own attorney during a murder trial for the fatal shooting of a soldier outside a Little Rock recruiting center. Abdulhakim Muhammad, 26, could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Pvt. William Andrew Long. He has said he killed Long and wounded Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula to avenge U.S. military action in the Middle East. Pulaski County Circuit...

Man Confesses To ‘Jihad Operation' Murder In Nashvilleby Jeff Tang Posted: Apr 13, 2011 6:57 PM EDT NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A former TSU student on trial for murder in Arkansas said he killed a man in East Nashville in 2006. **SNIP** But, in a letter to an Arkansas Judge, Muhammad confesses to another murder, an East Nashville man in 2006. "The letter was sent to us immediately after it was discovered and our cold case detectives will be going to interview him to see how much he knows about the case to see if he was involved," said Metro Police...

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — The man accused of killing one soldier and wounding another outside an Arkansas military recruiting center has asked a judge to change his plea to guilty, claiming ties to Al Qaeda. Abdulhakim Muhammad's attorney, Claiborne Ferguson, said Thursday night that his client sent a letter earlier this month to the judge in his case asking to change his plea to capital murder and attempted capital murder charges. Ferguson said he hadn't discussed the request with his client before the letter was sent. Under Arkansas law prosecutors would have to agree and waive the death penalty before...

The man accused of killing one soldier and wounding another outside an Arkansas military recruiting center has asked a judge to change his plea to guilty, claiming ties to al-Qaida. Abdulhakim Muhammad's attorney, Claiborne Ferguson, said Thursday night that his client sent a letter earlier this month to the judge in his case asking to change his plea to capital murder and attempted capital murder charges. Ferguson said he hadn't discussed the request with his client before the letter was sent. Under Arkansas law prosecutors would have to agree and waive the death penalty before the judge could consider it,...

Man could face death penalty for slaying of soldier in ArkansasBy The Associated Press Story Updated: Aug 1, 2009 at 3:30 PM CDT LITTLE ROCK, Ark., -- Prosecutors say they'll seek a death penalty against a man accused of killing a soldier outside an Army recruiting center. Abdulhakim Muhammad pleaded not guilty on Friday at a Pulaski County court hearing to charges that he shot and killed Pvt. William Andrew Long. The judge set a trial date of Feb. 15. Muhammad's lawyer says his client is in good spirits but wouldn't say whether his client's calls to reporters to claim...

Man charged in GI killing declines to change name BY JOHN LYNCH ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE The Muslim convert who is charged with killing one U.S. Army soldier and wounding a second outside a Little Rock recruiting station made a brief appearance in Pulaski County Circuit court on Tuesday to resolve his request to change his name. Prosecutors have yet to file a criminal case against Abdul-Hakim Mujahid Muhammad over the June 1 shooting that killed Pvt. William Long, 23, of Conway and wounded Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville. Little Rock police have charged the 23-year-old Tennessee native with capital murder...

Narrative from the first person by Gunsareok with considerable and insightful input from BufordP and Mr. and Mrs. Trooprally. If the public were asked to identify George Tiller, aka Tiller the Baby Killer, there’s little doubt that, after the “mainstream” news coverage of last week, many would be able to do so. But what about Private William Long, killed at a Little Rock Army recruiting center just a day after Tiller was killed at church? And no doubt that fewer still would be able to identify Private Quinton Ezeagwula, severely wounded in the same incident. This was the motivation for...

GI hurt in LR gunfire undeterred AP says suspect in case declared killing justified BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS The last time U.S. Army Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula was inside a military recruiting office, he was shot, bleeding and hoping another soldier could survive his own wounds. Even before Ezeagwula took a seat in front of waiting microphones and television lights Tuesday afternoon, The Associated Press reported that the man accused in his attack had said in a phone interview from the Pulaski County jail that firing the shots that wounded Ezeagwula and killed Pvt. William Long could not be...

The day before he died, U.S. Army Pvt. William Andrew "Andy" Long floated the Buffalo River with his sister, Vanessa Rice.Rice tearfully told guests: "My brother meant the world to me. Andy couldn't wait to get to Korea to serve his country."Long was killed outside a recruiting office.The church was filled with family and friends, armed service members, and officials, including Gov. Mike Beebe and Rep. Vic Snyder.Long is a fourth-generation armed services member. Long's father, Daris Long, is retired from the Marine Corps."No one is more military, no one is more patriotic than this family right here," "I asked...

Tuesday, June 09, 2009 Arkansas Jihadist Admits Killing US Soldier in Little Rock- Says There Was No Crime (Video) The Arkansas jihadist Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad says he was justified in killing US soldier Private William Long in cold blood. He said there was no crime. He said he was justified in killing the soldier. FOX News has more: "Yes, I did tell the police upon my arrest that this was an act of retaliation, and not a reaction on the soldiers personally," Muhammad said. He called it "a act, for the sake of God, for the sake of Allah,...

Violent jihad returned to America last week. In a story that got little notice amid the flood of features on the murder of abortionist George Tiller, an American Muslim named Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad murdered Private William Long and gravely wounded Private Quinton Ezeagwula outside the Army-Navy Career Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Muhammad. Deputy Prosecutor Scott Duncan said that Muhammad openly admitted that he “would have killed more soldiers had they been in the parking lot.” Carlos Leon “Corey” Bledsoe changed his name to Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad after he converted to Islam in 2004. He then went to Yemen hoping...

The day before he died, U.S. Army Pvt. William Andrew “Andy” Long floated the Buffalo River with his sister, Vanessa Rice. If he had his way, she said, the pair would have gone skydiving. “I’m so blessed to have had that day with Andy,” Rice tearfully told guests at her brother’s funeral Monday at Harlan Park Baptist Church in Conway. “My brother meant the world to me. Andy loved to be outdoors, to travel, and he couldn’t wait to get to Korea to serve his country.” The service was followed by a burial with full military honors Monday at the...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A judge has issued a gag order in the capital murder case against the man accused of killing one soldier and wounding another at a military recruiting office in Arkansas. Judge Alice Lightle issued the order Monday after prosecutors requested it to block court officials and police from discussing the case

CONWAY, Ark. -- A soldier shot and killed at a military recruiting office in Arkansas last week was laid to rest Monday, though what his headstone will eventually read is still unknown. Pvt. William Andrew Long's family must still decide whether his tombstone lists him as the first soldier to die at the hands of a terrorist since Sept. 11, 2001. Police say Long was shot and killed June 1 by Abdulhakim Muhammad, 23, a Muslim convert, at a recruiting center at a suburban Little Rock strip mall. Muhammad, who also allegedly injured another Army private, targeted soldiers "because of...

<p>Little Rock - Army Private William Long was to have been on his way to his first posting today when, instead, he was being eulogized in his hometown.</p> <p>Long, from Conway, was killed June 1 outside the Army-Navy Career Center in west Little Rock where he had volunteered to tell others about his military experience. A Muslim convert once imprisoned in Yemen has pleaded not guilty to capital murder in Long's death. He allegedly told police he targeted Army personnel "because of what they had done to Muslims in the past."</p>

This is a video taken by a participant of last Fridays Memorial and Military rally at the site of last Mondays attack on the Army recruiting station in Little Rock where one soldier was killed and one seriously wounded.