How should I deal with threatening hate mail?

[The Muslim Agorist]

I'm going to have to leave out a lot of the details on this, because my friend went to the FBI and they've instructed him not to go public until they've looked into it. Technically I shouldn't know any of this, but I'm waiting in the wings for the green light to write a report on this. All that aside. My question is... how do you think I should have handled this if it were me and I don't what to use the services of the FBI?

He received a letter, snail mail, threatening property damage on some local mosques, and alluding to a larger plan of a series of attacks throughout the coming months around the state. In all likelihood it's just a lot of hot air intended to intimidate, but there is no ambiguity that it was worded as a threat to person and property.

The idiots who sent it to him printed the letter on the back of a program from their church group. The officiant of the groups meetings is the same as whoever signed the letter. And with a little googling I was able to find the facebook and myspace pages of all the officers in the program, a few of their personal blogs, and able to connect the officiant's name back to the PO Box the letter was sent from.

Given that the gears are already in motion, and it's not my case. If it were me, do you think I should turn them all over the FBI? I hesitate, and would be inclined toward contacting them directly now that I know who they are. Something like how Ian approached the guy who stole his bike. But what if they are serious, and dangerous.

[Diogenes The Cynic]

What else could you do? Hire a private investigator?

You're already paying for their services. Might as well use them.

[John Shaw]

The idiots who sent it to him printed the letter on the back of a program from their church group. The officiant of the groups meetings is the same as whoever signed the letter. And with a little googling I was able to find the facebook and myspace pages of all the officers in the program, a few of their personal blogs, and able to connect the officiant's name back to the PO Box the letter was sent from.

I would call that person and see if it's legit. Sounds like a setup by an agent provocateur

"I think all ya'll should DIAF, sincerely, someone who is definitely me for real see here's my church group and my contact info."

[thersites]

The idiots who sent it to him printed the letter on the back of a program from their church group. The officiant of the groups meetings is the same as whoever signed the letter. And with a little googling I was able to find the facebook and myspace pages of all the officers in the program, a few of their personal blogs, and able to connect the officiant's name back to the PO Box the letter was sent from.

I would call that person and see if it's legit. Sounds like a setup by an agent provocateur

"I think all ya'll should DIAF, sincerely, someone who is definitely me for real see here's my church group and my contact info."

Shaw's right. Firebombing over phone-lines is not possible as yet. I'm certain whoever you call is going to be reallllly surprised. Of course, you never know who is going to be on the other end of the line, so you might want to come up with a plausible reason for doubting the veracity, and say so-since no doubt the feds can come back at you for not reporting a 'legitimate' threat....or well anything they want really.

After that though, if by some bizarre stretch the threat is confirmed...then you must make a decision. I'd go public with the threat, I think, if its a threat agianst a public place or group, call a press conference. Publicity is likely to give you as much(almost certainly more)protection as going direct to the feds would.

And hire a lawyer. A good one.  Actually, if the threat was to a place like a Mosque, that might be the best first move-even if you intend to go to the fuzz, its awful easy to fuck up.

[The Muslim Agorist]

It just so happens that this friend is a lawyer. So I'm not too concerned about how he handles himself with the Feds. It's in his job description.

It never occurred to me that the whole thing could be fake. Once I found the real people involved I assumed it was real. Are Feds prone to creating false threats using real people's identities? That seems incredibly dangerous.

[BonerJoe]

Maybe they wanted to see if the Muslims would bomb them in a pre-emptive attack.

[mrapplecastle]

...change email address, stop using your real info on the interwebs 

[John Shaw]

Are Feds prone to creating false threats using real people's identities?

Although I used the word "Agent", I wasn't necessarily implying gooberment peoples.

There are assholes out there that'd be happy to stir up some shit like that.

[Andy]

Are Feds prone to creating false threats using real people's identities?

Although I used the word "Agent", I wasn't necessarily implying gooberment peoples.

There are assholes out there that'd be happy to stir up some shit like that.

To me this seems more likely than someone actually being dumb enough to have their own info on that kind of threat.

If they were threatening arson, I'd be calling the cops, not confronting  anyone. Short of that I probably wouldn't bother.

Something like how Ian approached the guy who stole his bike. But what if they are serious, and dangerous.

A valid concern.

I'd also be deeply skeptical of the effectiveness of that kind of tactic in such a situation, presumably Ian intended to shame this bike thief on some level. The people making these threats are probably proud of them.

[anarchir]

Andy: your sig is not much of a blog is it?

[Terror Australis]

It seems like you are damned if you do and damned if you dont.

[davann]

I'd suggest plagiarizing the letter with a small shout out to the writer on some unknown web site fequented by a handful of people.

[alaric89]

I am disinclined to cry wolf, but I agree with Mr. Shaw. Either it is a setup, or someone to damn dumb to care about.

[Stephen E.]

Muslim Agorist,

This is off topic but what do you think of my responses in your "why 'they' hate 'us'?" thread.
 
As for the topic, it does sound as if this is the work of agent provocateurs. Would anyone who was serious make their identities so plainly obvious? Although it could be that they are serious but incompetent.

[The Muslim Agorist]

Muslim Agorist,

This is off topic but what do you think of my responses in your "why 'they' hate 'us'?" thread.
 
As for the topic, it does sound as if this is the work of agent provocateurs. Would anyone who was serious make their identities so plainly obvious? Although it could be that they are serious but incompetent.

Did I never respond to that? I thought it was genius. A number of my favored scholars have argued that the Wahhabi/Salafi/Al Qaeda thing, what ever you want to call it is a resurgence of the Kharijite mentality. I liked your term, takfiris, because that really does drive the point to people that waffle around the meaning of jihad.

The only reservation I have... and this very very speculative... is that the Kharijites were the anarchists of the early schism. The Sunni and Shia essentially split over a conflict of political leadership, not theology. The theological differences have crept in over time. The Kharijites were the ones who said, "no, our oaths were to Muhammad and no one else. You have no authority, so piss off." I have a lot of sympathy for that stance. The Sunni and Shia both developed a kind of social contract theory where political allegiance could be established by tacit consent and not explicit oaths like it had been in Muhammad's time. The Kharijites rejected all that. So I question whether or not the negative characterization of Kharijites isn't skewed by a long history of propaganda from the camps that survived. I haven't done the research to have a firm opinion about that, but I intend to. Just a suspicion.