Terror Down The Tracks?
Maybe. Maybe not. But in the parlance of the intelligence world, let’s connect some dots: Charlotte lands the DNC in February; two months later, surveillance cameras catch a man in a restricted area along the Lynx Blue light-rail line, which runs into the heart of uptown and what will be DNC 2012 command central. The man in the video, at the risk of racial profiling, appears to have physical attributes consistent with an Arab demographic. The man is dressed in dark clothing and is acting in what law enforcement officials describe as “a suspicious manner.” The man entered an area that was clearly marked as restricted, cordoned by physical barriers, and required effort to access.
Two months subsequent, yesterday, the FBI releases photos of the man and requests the public’s help in identifying and locating him. Officials say they didn’t see anything in the surveillance video to suggest the unidentified man was a threat to public safety; but because he was dressed in dark clothing and acting in a suspicious manner in a restricted area, it led them to further investigate the incident.
Make of that what you will. Here’s the FBI’s full press release:
CHARLOTTE, NC—The Charlotte Division of the FBI and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department are asking the public to help identify a man who was in a restricted area along the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) LYNX Blue Line in April. He was observed acting in a suspicious manner on a surveillance camera, and the incident was reported to the FBI. Agents and Task Force Officers are now asking if anyone may know this individual.
“The safety and security procedures that we have established along the light rail line assisted in detecting the individual in an area that is off limits to the public. We immediately notified our partners at the FBI and CMPD,” said Bryan Leaird, CATS’ General Manager of Safety and Security. “The combined efforts of CATS and our local and federal law enforcement agencies help keep the transit system safe for our customers, which is our top priority.”
“We do not want to create a sense of alarm releasing these surveillance photos. Our job as law enforcement is to track down suspicious activity. Recent events have created an atmosphere of heightened awareness, and that type of vigilance is a good thing,” said Chris Briese, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Charlotte Division. “We hope someone in the community has information that can help us.”
Anyone who has information that may help the FBI identify the man pictured in the surveillance image is asked to call the Charlotte Division at 704-377-9200.
“Recent events have created an atmosphere of heightened awareness”: wonder what SAC Briese could mean by that? Because, you know, we’ve been assured that a teenager stowing away on a plane at CLT, an alleged smuggling ring uncovered at the same airport, and a recent uptown gang riot – those were all events that authorities had under control and were nothing to cause any undue concern or alarm.
Which sounds an awful lot like the same line officials are putting out regarding an unidentified man acting suspiciously in a restricted area on a main public transit artery leading into uptown and the site of the DNC 2012.
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