On Wednesday an anonymous tipster called the California Highway Patrol, claiming that four Chinese people had come into the U.S. from Mexico and were to receive a shipment of “nuclear oxide” to be used in a terror plot in Boston.
Law enforcement officials arranged to meet the anonymous tipster, who didn’t show up. In the meeting place were four photos and the corresponding names of two Chinese women and two Chinese men.
On this basis, the FBI released a statement along with their photos, saying they were wanted for questioning on a “dirty bomb” plot.
Every law official who has spoken about this investigation admits there is no corroborating evidence whatsoever to tie these four people to anything. Yesterday, U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan of Boston said these people are “not wanted at this point in time for any crimes because there’s no evidence at this point in time that they’ve committed any crimes.”
Nonetheless, since yesterday, we’ve been getting headlines like this:
So if you ever want to sic the FBI on someone and brand them in the national media as a “terrorist,” just call in an anonymous tip and leave their name and photo. At least if the person is a non-white foreign national.
