Justice Department Charges Man in Plot to Attack Islamberg, New York
A federal grand jury , 63, of Signal Mountain, Tenn. last week for allegedly soliciting others to burn down a mosque in Islamberg, a predominantly African American Muslim hamlet in Hancock, N.Y., near the Pennsylvania border.
A former Independent congressional candidate in Tennessee and an alleged member of several 鈥減rivate militia groups,鈥� according to court documents, was and as part of a deal to a charge of interstate communication of threats, a non-terrorism offense that carries up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Doggart鈥檚 indictment comes almost a week after on June 30 when the presiding judge in the case, Curtis Collier, allowed Doggart鈥檚 release from jail on a $30,000 bond, but rejected the earlier plea agreement, saying that the prosecution failed to prove that Doggart鈥檚 plot was a 鈥渢rue threat.鈥�
Doggart to family members by magistrate judge Susan K. Lee after she reversed her earlier ruling finding Doggart a 鈥渄anger to the community.鈥�
Federal agents Doggart in February after he posted to Facebook that a community outside Hancock was planning a terrorist attack and 鈥渕ust be utterly destroyed.鈥�
鈥淭hose guys (have) to be killed,鈥� Doggart allegedly said during a cell phone conversation to an FBI informant. 鈥淭heir buildings need to be burnt down. If we can get in there and do that not losing a man, even the better.鈥� According to prosecutors, Doggart showed a map of Islamberg to an individual in Nashville and identified the buildings he wanted destroyed, which included a school and a mosque.
In the federal indictment, Doggart is charged with one count of soliciting others to violate federal civil rights laws by intentionally damaging or destroying religious property (or attempting to do so) because of the religious character of the property. If convicted, he faces up to ten years in prison.
According to his 2014 campaign website (available in the ), Doggart served in the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, and he holds a Ph.D. from LaSalle University. He also claims to be an ordained Christian minister in the Christian National Church, which appears to be an . Doggart also claimed on his site that he received two Presidential Awards for Pro-bono Lifetime Public Service. Hatewatch could not verify details about those awards, though we did find presidential Pro Bono Service Awards in various states (example ) that appear to be limited to attorneys.
Islamberg鈥檚 residents left New York City for a and have found common ground with the predominantly white Christian residents of Hancock. In spite of that, Islamberg the of , and of 鈥渢errorist training camps鈥� for years.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of perplexing to us,鈥� Delaware County deputy sheriff Craig Dumont told right-wing radio host and staffer Aaron Klein on New York鈥檚 AM 970. 鈥淎ll this recent media attention in regard to potential terrorist training camps and things that are going on there 鈥� We don鈥檛 see it. We just don鈥檛 find any of that to be valid at this time.鈥�
