office

CHRISTIAN ACTION NETWORK FILES 'FOIA' IN SUICIDE BOMBING

UPDATE: November 24, 2006

Obviously, the FBI does not want to comply with our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on the Joel Hinrichs "suicide bombing" case outside an Oklahoma University football game on October 1, 2005.

After waiting five months for the central records division of the FBI in Washington, DC to respond to our second FOIA request, we wrote a letter asking the FBI to "kindly expedite" our appeal.

On September 27, a director of the US Department of Justice, Daniel J. Metcalfe, wrote back stating, "I am denying your request for expedited treatment of your appeal."

Mr. Metcalfe did suggest, however, that we file our FOIA request with the FBI field office in Oklahoma City, which likely held the information we were seeking. We complied and on October 9th sent a FOIA request to the field office in Oklahoma City.

Not surprisingly, the FBI field office wrote back on November 2 stating the information we were seeking was probably in their central records system in Washington, D.C.

Having gone full-circle with the FBI, we are now seeking congressional help to get our FOIA request fulfilled. Another option is to file legal action. Under regulations set forth by the Department of Justice, the FBI has 20 business days to make a determination on whether to grant our FOIA request. As of this date, our appeal is 246 days old.

If any attorneys are willing to donate their legal expertise to help us with our appeal, please contact us at can@christianaction.org.

Please read the articles below to backtrack this story.

With ‘Regret,’ FBI Notifies Christian Action Network It Must Delay Appeal On Suicide Bombing Case

(April 6, 2006) Forest, VA -- The FBI notified Christian Action Network (CAN) today that it is “has a substantial backlog” of appeals which will delay the organization’s attempt to gain further information about the suicide bombing death of Joel Henry Hinrichs III.

Mr. Hinrichs was killed last October after a bomb strapped to his back exploded while he was sitting on a park bench outside a packed football stadium at Oklahoma University. A witness claimed Hinrichs’ attempted to enter the stadium but ran away after security requested to search his backpack.

He was found later sitting on a park bench when the bomb exploded, killing only himself. The FBI ruled the death as a “suicide” of a depressed individual. The city’s coroner has disagreed.

Christian Action Network has also disputed the “suicide” determination and suggested there was enough evidence to believe Mr. Hinrichs was attempting to perform a terrorist attack against the 84,000 fans at the Oklahoma University football game.

In February, CAN filed its first Freedom of Information Act with the FBI to obtain further information into Mr. Hinrichs’ death, but the FBI responded in March with a “surprising” statement that it had “no records” regarding the incident.

CAN promptly filed an appealed with the FBI, citing numerous press accounts that confirmed the agency was involved with the investigation.

In its latest response today, the bureau stated that there was a “backlog” on such appeals and that the organization would have to wait until the log jam was cleared.

The bomb used in the Hinrichs’ explosion was classified by the FBI as TAPT, a popular bomb used by terrorists and commonly referred to as the “terrorist bomb of choice.”

TAPT was used in the London Subway bombings last year and it was found in the shoes of the so-called “shoe bomber,” Richard Reid, after his failed attempt to bring down an international flight in 2001.

“Not only did Mr. Hinrichs explode a bomb commonly used by terrorists, but he was seen just two days prior in a feed store attempting to purchase ammonium-nitrate fertilizer,” said Martin Mawyer, president of Christian Action Network.

Ammonium-nitrate fertilizer was used by Timothy McVeigh in 1995 to demolish the Federal Murrah Building in the same city, killing 167 men, women and children.

“There is no disputing that Mr. Hinrichs attempted to purchase the fertilizer because it was witnessed by an off-duty policeman who later filed an official report,” Mawyer contended.

“To say Mr. Hinrichs was attempting to commit suicide by blowing himself up with TAPT would be to suggest that he would have preferred killing himself with ammonium-nitrate fertilizer, a bomb so powerful it brings down entire buildings. This is both ridiculous and absurd,” said Mawyer.

Other news accounts stated that Mr. Hinrichs attended a local mosque and that radical Islamic literature was found inside his apartment.

“If this was a terrorist attempt against the students of Oklahoma University, then these students have a right to know if they were targets of radical Islam,” Mawyer said. “To claim this is nothing but a suicide, and not to investigate the local mosque and learn if it is preaching terrorism against the local community is both irresponsible and a failure to serve and protect the citizens of America.”

For previous developments and full story, see articles below.

FBI Denies it Has Records On Joel Hinrichs Suicide Bombing Outside of Packed Football Stadium

(March 13, 2006) Forest, VA -- In a stunning reply to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) filed by the Christian Action Network, the Federal Bureau of Investigation claims it has “no records” regarding the Oklahoma City suicide bombing case of Joel Henry Hinrichs III.

On October 1, 2005 Joel Hinrichs III detonated a bomb just outside Oklahoma University’s Memorial Stadium where 84,000 fans were attending a football game. The FBI ruled the bombing an act of “suicide” with no terrorist connections.

Christian Action Network, a non-profit organization based in Forest, VA., filed the FOIA to determine whether any information being held by the FBI could dispute the “suicide” claim.

“This is a shocking development,” Martin Mawyer, president of the 250,000 member organization, said of the FBI denial. “The FBI clearly investigated the Hinrichs’ bombing case. In fact, the Bureau issued a press release on October 2 stating the “incident is being investigated by the FBI...”

“This is beginning to look more and more like a cover-up,” Mawyer said. “The public has a right to know whether Joel Hinrichs committed ‘suicide’ because he was depressed or whether he was attempting to commit a terrorist act against 84,000 fans at Memorial field.”

Over the weekend, the FBI issued a terrorist warning to law enforcement agencies alerting them of possible “suicide bombings” at upcoming sporting events in America. The FBI, which found the threat posted on a “jihadist Web site,” also said the posting claimed such suicide attacks were “a cost-effective measure of killing thousands of Americans.”

“The FBI warning,” Mawyer said, “makes it doubly important for Americans to know the facts behind the Joel Hinrichs ‘suicide’ bombing case. This information could demonstrate whether the new terrorist threat is simply blustering or whether radical Muslims could actually be willing to carryout their terrorist instructions.”

“We filed the Freedom of Information Act to determine whether the FBI was covering up the facts surrounding the Hinrichs suicide bombing,” Mawyer said. “Their denial of having any records on the case certainly adds fuel to the theory.”

On March 2, a Norman police bomb expert also stated he did not believe Joel Henry Hinrichs III committed suicide by blowing himself up outside a packed football stadium. “I believe he accidentally blew himself up,” Sgt. George Mauldin said.

Below is the official FBI response from David M. Hardy, Section Chief, Records Management Division in Washington, D.C.

“No records responsive to your FOIA request were located by a search of the automated and manual indices,” Mr. Hardy wrote.

The Christian Action Network will appeal the decision to the Co-Director of the Information and Privacy Division of the FBI.

See story below for details.

CAN Files Freedom of Information Act

In Suicide Bombing at University Football Game

In an effort to uncover the truth behind the so-called “suicide” bombing of Joel Hinrichs III outside the Oklahoma University football stadium, the Christian Action Network has filed a Freedom of Information Act petition with the FBI, Norman Police Department and Oklahoma University.

The details of the case are as follows:

On October 1, 2005 a young university student by the name of Joel Henry Hinrichs III strapped a bomb to his back and headed out his apartment door.

Just ahead of him, a short distance away, was Oklahoma University’s Memorial Stadium, packed with 84,000 fans.

The 21-year-old reportedly was a recent convert to Islam who allegedly attended one of the most controversial mosques in America, the Norman Mosque.

On this day he would die a very violent death.

Inside his backpack was a highly volatile bomb made of TAPT. Commonly referred to as the "Terrorist Weapon of Choice", TAPT is easy to make, the materials are easy to find, but it's equally unstable, unpredictable, and unmistakably dangerous to handle.

According to a witness, Hinrichs took his terrorist bomb to the front gates of the football game. When he tried to enter, a security guard asked to search his backpack. At that point, Hinrichs fled and took a seat on a bench 100 yards away.

As he sat, the backpack exploded and completely dismembered Hinrichs' body.

The FBI and the president of Oklahoma University, David Boren, ruled the death as nothing more than a lone "suicide” by a depressed student.

But the medical examiner disagreed and listed Hinrichs' death as "unknown," leaving open the possibility that Hinrichs' bombing was much more sinister.

And perhaps for good reason.

Not only did Channel 9 News in Oklahoma City report that extremist Islamic literature was found inside Hinrichs’ apartment...along with more bomb making explosives, but...

Two days prior to his death, Hinrichs went into a local feed store and attempted to purchase ammonium-nitrate fertilizer.

This is the same explosive material which Timothy McVeigh used in his 1995 bombing of the Federal Murrah Building in the same city.

His attempted purchase was botched, however, when he made the request in the presence of an off-duty policeman.

The policeman followed Hinrichs to the parking lot, wrote down his license plate number, and filed a police report. An “official” investigation into the attempted purchase was to begin on that Monday. But it was too late. By Saturday, Hinrichs’ had decided to use the bomb-making material he had on hand, TAPT.

If Hinrichs’ had succeeded in purchasing ammonium-nitrate fertilizer, what were his plans then? Would he have parked a truck outside the football stadium, detonated the explosives, causing untold deaths among 84,000 fans?

Many questions need to be answered.

That’s why Christian Action Network has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) petition with the FBI, Oklahoma University, the Norman police department and other law enforcement agencies that investigated the bombing.

CAN will release the findings of the FOIA to Members of Congress, the media and to parents whose children attend Oklahoma University (they need to know the whole truth!)

By filing a Freedom of Information Act petition, CAN will be able to provide Members of Congress and the national media with the details of this bombing.

Congress should hold public hearings about this suicide bombing because America deserves immediate answers.

Was Joel Hinrichs attempting to commit America’s first homicide bombing? Are children safe in the nation’s schools – including elementary, middle and high-schools? Was Joel Hinrichs acting alone or was he sent on a mission by radical Muslim clerics in America?

After all, who commits suicide by blowing themselves up with TAPT -- except for terrorists? Even if we were to entertain the idea that Hinrichs was depressed and suicidal, how does this explain his attempt to purchase ammonium-nitrate fertilizer just days prior? If TAPT is the terrorist weapon of choice for blowing up subway stations and airlines, then ammonium-nitrate fertilizer is the terrorist weapon of choice for bringing down entire buildings.

Filing our Freedom of Information Act petition and presenting our findings to Congress could finally spark our nation’s lawmakers into investigating radical Muslim mosques in America and take action against their source of revenue -- Wahabist funding coming out of Saudi Arabia.