They were such a nice young couple. But in 2010, the FBI busted the two, who had been quietly living in King Salmon with one child and one one the way.
They had made their way to Anchorage with an assassination list when they were apprehended.
Agents arrested Paul and Nadia Rockwood for activities related to terrorism. Basically, they lied about a list they had given to someone — a list with more than a dozen names of people they considered enemies of Islam.
Paul Rockwood Jr. was a red-bearded weather forecaster from Virginia who now is serving time in federal prison, while Nadia, a pregnant, apple-cheeked Brit, was exiled to England to serve her sentence of probation.
The two had drafted a list of targets in the Lower 48 that were prime for terrorist attacks. They did this while in King Salmon, Alaska. No one in the small town of 440 people suspected a thing.
FAST FORWARD TO 2016: THE LEFT WANTS YOU TO SHUT UP
When Anchorage Assembly Member Amy Demboski asked a question on her radio talk show about whether a Muslim organization possibly in Alaska has terrorist ties, as is alleged by some credible sources, the alt-left media came loaded for bear.
Demboski is no stranger to controversy. During her run for Anchorage mayor, an accusation was made — not by her, mind you — that her Democratic opponent supported incest. Demboski was pushed by then-radio host Casey Reynolds to deny it, but in fact she had not made the charge in the first place.
Later, the tape was produced that revealed that now-Mayor Ethan Berkowitz had (jokingly) said he didn’t care one bit about who had sex with whom. Father-son, no problem, he jousted on the show he shared with his conservative co-host Bernadette Wilson.
But the calling out of Demboski for not distancing herself from that accusation was like a dog whistle to the Democrats. An election tempest ensued with the Left losing its collective head because Demboski would not condemn those making the accusation. As she said at the time, she had no knowledge of the incident. It was not enough.
This past week, Demboski riled the Left again.
She had had Democrat Greg ‘Shoaib’ Jones on her show recently. He is a member of the Muslim faith and he ran for Rep. Mark Neuman’s District 8 seat, losing badly to the incumbent in one of the most conservative areas of the state.
Demboski asked Jones about his ties to a group called Muslims of America, which is a legitimate line of questioning, considering that the group has had some controversy swirling around it — it used to go by another name: Jamaat ul-Fuqra.
And considering that Jones had said he was a member of the group.
While Muslims of America may or may not be made up of the same folks who identify with terrorism, it’s easy enough to find the links online that would lead a reporter to ask the same questions. A government-funded report on the link between white collar crime and terrorism uses Jamaat ul-Fuqra as a poster child. The Anti-Defamation League has its antenna up for the group, which it ties to Muslims of America.
Muslims of America’s leader, Pakistani Sheikh Muburak Gilani, was linked to the kidnap and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. Pearl was working on a story about Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber.” Gilani was interviewed extensively by authorities, but was cleared. CBS’ 60 Minutes has a report on the Gilani-Daniel Pearl connection.
Jones attended Tuesday’s meeting of the Anchorage Assembly and, at the invitation of Democrat Assemblyman Eric Croft, took after Demboski, saying her show spews hate.
She was undaunted: “They are saying I’m spewing hate speech, simply because I shared an article that was featured on Fox News nationally. This is a witch hunt. No wrong was committed until Alaska Commons lied and stoked a fake fire,” Demboski said.
THE OFFICIAL WORD IS…
Last year, FBI Director James Comey said the agency is investigating suspects linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in every state.
“We have investigations of people in various stages of radicalizing in all 50 states,” Comey told the National Association of Attorneys General, as reported by The Hill. He went on to explain that law enforcement is not likely to be the first to notice “someone acting in strange ways.”
The crush of political correctness in the liberal media has had a chilling affect on free speech. And yet the media has also not yet caught up with the fact that Americans are tired of having to edit themselves to fit an ever-changing standard of accepted speech. It’s why Donald Trump is the president-elect and more governors than ever are Republican.
As Demboski navigates the bullies who disagree with her and her line of questioning of those who seek public office, she’s also become subject of threats. Two weeks ago she received a disturbing text message that reminds her that the arena of public opinion can be filled with violent people.
Which is why she protects her First Amendment rights with the Second Amendment pistol at her waist.