Royer Watch

Ismail Royer, America's first (known) blogger to be arrested as a jihadist, was ordered released pending trial last week, without bail but with an electric ankle bracelet. Three of Royer's co-defendants were also released, while Masoud Ahmad Khan, the first member of the Paintball 11 to get bail, had his release denied on appeal.

Update: Glad I used the weasel phrase "ordered released" earlier: Royer's father informs me that his release has been put off pending an appeal by the prosecution, which is expected to be heard today. (Khan, the first defendant who got his walking papers, had his release denied in the appeal.) Most of the news accounts describe the significance of the bail hearings in terms of making the government's case look weak, which is a little too much editorializing for my taste, but there does appear to be quite a bit of disagreement about whether the defendants, or at least five of them, are really a threat to society.