Fla security guard arrested for threatening mosque
Miami FL June 10 2017 A security guard who admitted that he has hated Muslims since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was charged with leaving a phone message threatening members of a Miami-Dade mosque, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Gerald Sloane Wallace, 35, made several attempts to threaten South Florida mosques by phone before leaving an expletive-filled voice mail at the Masjid Mosque in Miami Gardens, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors will ask a magistrate judge to detain Wallace after his arraignment in Miami federal court on Friday, claiming he is a “serious danger” to the community.
Wallace is accused of leaving the threatening voice mail message on Feb. 19 at the Masjid Mosque, also known as the Muslim Communities Association of South Florida.
“I hate you Muslims, you Muslims are terrible. I hate you people,” Wallace’s recorded message said. “I’m gonna go down to your center, I’m gonna shoot all ya’ll. … I hate your Allah, I hate your Koran, I hate everything about Islam.”
Wallace was initially arrested by the Miami Gardens police and FBI agents in late February and held on state threat charges. During questioning, Wallace admitted that since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he has had an “absolute hatred” of Muslims, especially Muslims in the United States.
The defendant, who has a concealed weapons permit to possess a gun for his security job at a Miami grocery store, told investigators that he tried to call and threaten several mosques in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
“Wallace said that he calls and emails these mosques because he hates Muslims and has thought about killing them,” according to a court motion filed Wednesday seeking the defendant’s detention. “He believes that all Muslims must leave the United States, whether voluntarily or by force.”
In May, Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry Wallace secured a grand jury indictment charging the defendant with threatening to injure members of the Miami Gardens mosque. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.
Miami Herald
