(KATU photos)
This story from Houston’s ABC affiliate has Brandon Mayfield’s wife praying for his release, but doesn’t mention to whom she is praying: Mayfield, an American lawyer who represented jihadist Jeffrey Battle and has now been arrested on suspicion of a connection to the Madrid bombing, is a convert to Islam.
Is it possible that he, like John Walker Lindh, Richard Reid, and so many other Western converts, somehow missed the Qur’an’s teachings of peace we keep hearing so much about?
“My husband is a good man. He is a good father and he is a good husband,” said Mayfield’s wife, Mona Mayfield. “I am upset that this has leaked out. There have been no charges against my husband, and we pray for his early release.”
Mayfield also worked as an assistant to the defense of Jeffrey Battle back in 2002. Battle was convicted of helping al Qaida, and sentenced to 18 months in prison. It’s not clear yet if that has any connection to Mayfield’s arrest.
And in a story from Portland’s KATU, we learn that Mayfield could not have done anything so heinous as to help the Madrid bombers. Why? Well, because he is a devout Muslim and goes to mosque. He would never have had anything to do with those Madrid bombers, who were … devout Muslims who went to mosque.
And of course there are the standard protestations of innocence, discrimination, and official mishandling of the case, which appear whenever a Muslim is arrested on suspicion of terrorist activity.
“His wife was in tears because of the way the search was conducted. The FBI apparently hurt things in the house, left things in disarray,” Nelson told reporters outside Mayfield’s home. “He is a regular run-of-the-mill guy.”
Nelson also said Mayfield had never traveled to Spain.
Mayfield’s mother, AvNell Mayfield, told a Kansas newspaper said her son had not traveled outside of the U.S. since he visited his wife’s family 10 years ago.
“He is not a militant person,” she said. “He is very law-abiding, very quiet. He is a devout Muslim and goes to mosque. This is an outrage.”
Neighbors tell KATU News that Brandon Mayfield and his wife have lived in the home for about a year and a half and are a friendly family.