Prosecutors: Father performed rituals inattempt to rid disabled sonof demons
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and other state Republicans are criticizing a Democratic judge’s decision to allow the release of defendants accused of child abuse at a ramshackle desert compound where authorities found the remains of a boy.
The judge’s decision came Monday evening after a lengthy hearing in Taos during which prosecutors said the five defendants were preparing for a dangerous anti-government mission. Prosecutors presented evidence of the firearms training done by Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and described a compound fortified by old tires and wooden pallets. Court documents state the suspects were training the eleven children found in the compound for school shooting.
Judge Sarah Backus said although she was concerned by “troubling facts,” prosecutors failed to articulate any specific threats to the community. She set a $20,000 bond for each suspect and ordered that they wear ankle monitors and have weekly contact with their attorneys. The suspects are forbidden to hold firearms. Wahhaj, the father of a boy kidnapped in Georgia, would not be released because an arrest warrant has been issued for him in that state.
New Mexico State Republican Party Chairman Ryan Cangiolosi on Tuesday described the decision to allow the release as “absurd” and said he believes the suspects pose a danger to the public and are a flight risk. Gov. Martinez also renewed her criticism of new state rules for pre-trial release that set a high standard of proof for holding suspects without bond.
Authorities said Wahhaj had performed rituals in an attempt to rid his disabled child of demons before the child died. The remains of the missing Georgia boy were found buried in the complex.
FBI Agent Travis Taylor testified Monday that one of the eleven children found at the makeshift compound said during an interview that the Georgia boy, Abdul-ghani Wahhaj, had died in February.
Public defenders argue Wahhaj was trying to heal the boy by reading passages from the Quran. Prosecutors argued that Wahhaj was denying the boy medication.
