Mayor Michael Bloomberg on The John Gambling Show, February 24, 2012
The New York Police Department is fending off criticism of its monitoring of Muslim student groups and cataloging of mosques and Muslim businesses in nearby Newark N.J.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg told WOR they would do whatever it takes to keep the city safe and prevent attacks from happening, like the radical Islamic terror attack of 1993.
“The threat was real, the threat is real, the threat is not going away…We’ve got to do everything that the law permits us to do to prevent another terror attack. We cannot forget that.”
The operation was found in a 60-page NYPD report, released by the Associated Press earlier this week. The documents show how the NYPD targeted Muslim mosques with tactics normally reserved for criminal organizations, including collecting license plates of worshippers, monitoring them on surveillance cameras and cataloging sermons through a network of informants.
Officials in three states have traded accusations over who knew what about the secret 2007 NYPD operation, which also contained photographs and notes about every mosque and Muslim business in Newark.
“Everything the New York City Police Department has done is legal, it is appropriate, it is constitutional," Bloomberg said. "They are permitted to travel beyond the boarders of New York City to investigate cases. They can look at websites, watch television to detect unlawful activities or where there might be unlawful activities, to get leads. We don’t target individuals based on race or religion.”
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