Gitmo Inmates Could Be Housed in Alexandria Jail Near Luxury Digs
A maximum security jail in Alexandria, Va., near high-priced condominiums and a luxury hotel could house Guantanamo inmates if they are tried in federal courts there.
The Obama administration has indicated that the detainees could be tried in cities such as Alexandria and New York, the Washington Post reports. That prospect has Alexandria’s mayor protesting the idea and the sheriff complaining that the security requirements could overwhelm the system.
Alexandria sheriff Dana Lawhorne told FOX News it is possible that detainees could be transferred to the jail. “It would be a very extremely high-risk situation for us,” he told the Post. But, he added, “You can’t run the other way when your country calls.”
Convicted al-Qaida operative Zacarias Moussaoui was tried in Alexandria, and he was kept in isolation at the jail for five years. During the trial, the feds blocked streets and dispatched heavily armed agents and bomb-sniffing dogs to the area.
Alexandria Mayor William Euille pledged to do everything in his power to keep the detainees out of his city. “We’ve had this experience, and it was unpleasant,” he told the Post. “Let someone else have it.”
