RUTHFULLY YOURS

On June 7, Nicholas Teausant, the aspiring ISIS fighter from California, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. As he handed down the judgment, U.S. District Judge John Mendez told Teausant “There is no room for error. The risks are too high.” Omar Mateen, the Muslim racist who on June 11 gunned down 49 innocent people at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub, confirms that the judge’s statement is all too true.

Teausant, 22, has been portrayed as something of a dim bulb, a National Guard washout with mental issues. “Assad Teausant bigolsmurf,” as he called himself online, discussed his desire to train Syrian fighters, bomb the Los Angeles subway system and launch a civil war that would topple the American government. The Muslim convert had little military experience but gathered information on bomb making and jihad tactics from the English-language al-Qaida magazine Inspire. He spoke of attacking a “Zionist” daycare center.

Teausant wanted to join the ISIS, explaining “I would love to join Allah’s army” and “I want to go fight in Syria.” He would only return to America after President Obama was dead, Congress gone, and chaos prevailing across the nation. Teausant offered to make a video for the ISIS and leave his face “wide open to the camera.” He wanted to be a “commander” and if he landed on the FBI’s 12 most wanted list, he explained, “that means I’m doing something right.” The aspiring terrorist was unaware that the FBI was onto him. He planned to reach Syria by flying from Canada but FBI agents arrested him on March 16, 2014, in Blaine, Washington, near the Canadian border.

Prosecutors sought approval from the Justice Department for a plea deal, but on December 1, 2015, apart from any such agreement, Teausant pleaded guilty to supporting a terrorist organization. The next day, American-born Syed Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik, a Pakistani national, murdered 14 Americans and injured 21 in San Bernardino, California. The mass murder was the worst terrorist attack since September 11, 2001, but in the early going public officials hesitated to identify the killings as terrorism.

During his trial in federal court in Sacramento, Teausant’s lawyers portrayed him as a misguided youth, more talk than action, and also awkward and socially vulnerable. Prosecutors weren’t going for it, speaking of their duty to protect the public. In similar style, Judge Mendez told Teausant that “Terrorism has to become a zero-tolerance crime,” and that there was “no margin for error.” The case marks a stark contrast with American-born Muslim Omar Mateen.

As a New York Times report noted, the FBI investigated Mateen in 2013 over possible terrorist ties he had mentioned to co-workers. In 2014 the FBI investigated Mateen for possible ties to Moner Mohammad Absulha, an American-born suicide bomber in Syria. A former colleague at the G4S security firm told reporters Mateen expressed hatred of blacks, Jews, women and homosexuals. Mateen purchased firearms legally and was not under police surveillance at the time of the shooting.

In a 911 call from inside the Pulse nightclub, Mateen proclaimed allegiance to the Islamic State. Police described Mateen as calm during the attack but he continued to fire on civilians and the police before a SWAT team shot him dead. In the aftermath of the massacre, ISIS duly proclaimed Mateen one of their fighters.

The FBI told reporters that Omar Mateen’s contact with terrorists was “minimal,” and the agency dropped him from the radar. On the other hand, Nicholas Teausant’s contact with terrorists was also minimal, but the agency kept on his case and arrested him. Prosecutors and Judge John Mendez weren’t taking any chances with the safety of the public. Some observers thought the 12-year sentence harsh but in federal prison Teausant will not be bombing any “Zionist” daycare centers.

With Omar Mateen the FBI took a chance with public safety by dropping him from their radar. Why they did so remains uncertain but the result was quite different: 49 dead (50 counting the shooter) and 53 wounded, far beyond the death toll in the San Bernardino attack by Syeed Farook and Tashfeen Malik.

According to one report, Mateen killed 39 in the club, with 11 more dying in hospitals, where 53 others remained, most in critical condition. Doctors feared the death toll would rise, but it was already the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, and even the President of the United States called it terrorism. As Judge Mendez said, with terrorism the risks are high.