Fanatic Released—Hot or Not?

A good news/bad news story from Danny Hakim in The New York Times:

The man, Mohamed Nasser al-Ajji, 31, of Detroit, had been charged with a relatively minor offense related to Social Security fraud, though more serious accusations were laid out in court filings. At a detention hearing in federal court here today, Magistrate Steven D. Pepe said there were insufficient grounds to hold Mr. al-Ajji. Court filings released on Monday by federal prosecutors said Mr. al-Ajji's former brother-in-law had called the police in New York and told them Mr. al-Ajji was linked to Al Qaeda and was planning a terror attack.

More than 1,000 audiotapes espousing radical Islamic and anti-American views were found in Mr. al-Ajji's residence, as well as a letter from a Yemeni holy man responding to a question about the morality of a suicide attack. But Justice Department and F.B.I. officials in Washington said they did not believe that Mr. al-Ajji was planning an attack and thought it more likely he might be a sympathizer of radical groups.

On the plus side, subversive literature and correspondence, and an accusation by a disgruntled in-law, are not enough to hold a suspect. On the minus side, an obvious America-hating fanatic is out on the street…