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Bomb Case Against U.S. Lawyer Dismissed

Posted on: Monday, 24 May 2004, 06:00 CDT

PORTLAND, Ore. - A federal court threw out the case Monday against an American lawyer arrested in connection with the Madrid train bombings, lifting a a cloud of suspicion that has surrounded the attorney since his arrest earlier this month.

Brandon Mayfield, a 37-year-old convert to Islam, called his time behind bars "humiliating" and "embarrassing" and said he was targeted because of his faith.

"I am a Muslim, an American, and an ex-officer of the U.S. military," he said at a news conference. "I believe I was singled out and discriminated against, I feel as a Muslim."

The court cited a fingerprint-identification error by the FBI in dismissing the case.

FBI officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, had said that his fingerprint matched one found on a bag of detonators near the train station in Madrid in the March 11 bombing, which killed 191 people and injured 2,000 others. But last week, Spanish authorities said the fingerprints of an Algerian man were on the bag.

Mayfield was then released from custody. But he was not altogether cleared of suspicion at the time; the government said he remained a "material witness" and put restrictions on his movements.

Those restrictions were lifted Monday.

A statement posted on the U.S. District Court's Web site said: "Due to the misidentification by the FBI of a fingerprint, the court orders the material witness proceeding dismissed. The court orders all property seized to be returned to the material witness."

Furthermore, the court said that all documents in the case would be unsealed.

Mayfield, a former Army lieutenant, was arrested May 6, after FBI agents raided his suburban home in Aloha, Ore.

Steven Wax, the public defender who represented Mayfield, said an FBI computer likely returned a number of possible fingerprint matches, and that his client could have been singled out for investigation and subsequent arrest because he is Muslim. "It's a major civil rights issue," he said.

Wax said Mayfield believes he was not only arrested, but also subjected to so-called "sneak and peak" searches where agents break into a home but are under no obligation to tell the owner. They are allowed under the USA Patriot Act. Mayfield may sue the government, Wax said.

After Spanish authorities cast doubt on the match, the FBI re-examined the print and decided it was not Mayfield's, Wax said.

Lawyers for Mayfield said they would call for an investigation into leaks to the media in the case, as well as a probe into FBI actions, and how the fingerprint could have been misidentified.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Gorder left a message on his answering machine stating that he would not be responding to media phone calls. Other calls to the U.S. Attorney's office were not immediately returned.

Mayfield's mother said the family wants an apology from the U.S. government.

"That's what we've been saying all along. It's not his fingerprint," AvNell Mayfield of Hutchinson, Kan., said in a telephone interview minutes after the announcement. "He was falsely accused, and they still weren't letting him go."

The family erupted in joy after the announcement, with Mayfield's son and brother giving each other high-fives in the living room of the attorney's home.

"They're dancing and clicking their heels," Avnell Mayfield said.

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