Feds arrest former CAIR ‘civil rights’ leader; 2nd CAIR figure held as alleged terrorist

A terrorist suspect recently indicted in northern Virginia was a “civil rights” coordinator for one of the leading groups that opposes US counterterrorism efforts.

Randal Todd “Ismael” Royer, formerly on the national staff of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), was arrested in June on federal firearms and conspiracy charges. A federal indictment alleges that he trained with Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Kashmiri terrorist group reportedly franchised under al Qaeda.

As recently as five weeks ago, Royer was communications director for the National Liberty Fund, sponsored by the American Muslim Council (AMC) to “defend civil rights.” Specifically, the National Liberty Fund is defending Sami Al-Arian, currently in federal custody as an alleged leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Under civil rights rubric, CAIR, the AMC, the Islamic Institute and other groups have been attacking federal anti-terrorism laws and practices. They have pushed to repeal a law allowing terrorism-hunters to use classified information – to protect the identities of Muslims, Arabs and others who cooperate with the US – in the process of prosecuting and deporting foreign terror suspects.

The legal support structure for the terrorist front network in America is emerging. Royer’s defense lawyer, Stanley Cohen, is also an attorney for the HAMAS terrorist organization. Cohen’s law partner, Lynne Stewart, is awaiting trial on federal charges that she served as a courier for Omar Abdel Rahman, the “blind sheik” convicted of masterminding the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York.

Royer admits ties to Lashkar-e-Taiba, but says he’s done nothing illegal. He says he used to work for the AMC and the Muslim-American Society, in addition to CAIR, and that he volunteered as a Muslim combatant in Bosnia.

Royer is the second CAIR figure to be arrested since 9/11 on terrorism charges. Bassem Khafagi, arrested earlier this year, was community affairs director for CAIR in its Washington, DC headquarters. Though friends and family of the suspects protest innocence, CAIR officially has been silent on the issue.