Woman claims federal investigators visited her after 'pressure cooker and backpack' online searches
Published: 2013 August 02 07:33:22 (5490 Views)
A woman from Long Island, US, claimed Thursday that the feds descended on her family's home because they created a "perfect storm of terrorism profiling" by browsing pressure cookers and backpacks online.
Michele Catalano posted on her blog that six casually dressed investigators pulled into their driveway Wednesday and began peppering her husband with questions about where he was from, what he did for a living — and how to make quinoa.
"My husband, who happened to be home yesterday, was sitting in the living room with our two dogs when he heard a couple of cars pull up outside," Catalano wrote on Medium.com.
"A million things went through my husband's head," she continued. "He walked outside and the men greeted him by flashing badges. He could see they all had guns holstered in their waistbands."
The family later learned that they were flagged by the feds because of their activity online.
Catalano — a writer for an indie music and politics magazine, Death and Taxes — said she was searching for a new pressure cooker several weeks ago as her husband began looking for a new backpack.
Their 20-year-old "news junkie" son was also spending a lot of time online looking at stories of the Boston bombings.
When the agents arrived this week, Catalano said her husband let them inside for a "cursory search."
Catalano, who has also written for Forbes, said the officers were from the "joint terrorism task force," but an FBI spokesman could not immediately confirm if the agents were part of that detail.
But, according to Catalano, the feds kept hitting her husband with questions.
"Where is he from? Where are his parents from? They asked about me, where was I, where do I work, where do my parents live. Do you have any bombs, they asked," Catalano wrote.
But the inquiring agents became less suspicious of the family as the conversation continued.
Catalano wrote: "Do you own a pressure cooker? My husband said no, but we have a rice cooker. Can you make a bomb with that? My husband said no, my wife uses it to make quinoa. What the hell is quinoa, they asked."
The team of investigators — who allegedly claimed that they make similar home visits about 100 times a week — eventually left.
And Catalano said she learned a valuable lesson.
"All I know is if I'm going to buy a pressure cooker in the near future, I'm not doing it online," she wrote. "I'm scared. And not of the right things."
She declined comment, but defended herself on Twitter.
"I'll say it once: I didn't make it up," she wrote from her account, @intheface. "Thanks to those defending my integrity."
- NYDaily
Michele Catalano posted on her blog that six casually dressed investigators pulled into their driveway Wednesday and began peppering her husband with questions about where he was from, what he did for a living — and how to make quinoa.
"My husband, who happened to be home yesterday, was sitting in the living room with our two dogs when he heard a couple of cars pull up outside," Catalano wrote on Medium.com.
"A million things went through my husband's head," she continued. "He walked outside and the men greeted him by flashing badges. He could see they all had guns holstered in their waistbands."
The family later learned that they were flagged by the feds because of their activity online.
Catalano — a writer for an indie music and politics magazine, Death and Taxes — said she was searching for a new pressure cooker several weeks ago as her husband began looking for a new backpack.
Their 20-year-old "news junkie" son was also spending a lot of time online looking at stories of the Boston bombings.
When the agents arrived this week, Catalano said her husband let them inside for a "cursory search."
Catalano, who has also written for Forbes, said the officers were from the "joint terrorism task force," but an FBI spokesman could not immediately confirm if the agents were part of that detail.
But, according to Catalano, the feds kept hitting her husband with questions.
"Where is he from? Where are his parents from? They asked about me, where was I, where do I work, where do my parents live. Do you have any bombs, they asked," Catalano wrote.
But the inquiring agents became less suspicious of the family as the conversation continued.
Catalano wrote: "Do you own a pressure cooker? My husband said no, but we have a rice cooker. Can you make a bomb with that? My husband said no, my wife uses it to make quinoa. What the hell is quinoa, they asked."
The team of investigators — who allegedly claimed that they make similar home visits about 100 times a week — eventually left.
And Catalano said she learned a valuable lesson.
"All I know is if I'm going to buy a pressure cooker in the near future, I'm not doing it online," she wrote. "I'm scared. And not of the right things."
She declined comment, but defended herself on Twitter.
"I'll say it once: I didn't make it up," she wrote from her account, @intheface. "Thanks to those defending my integrity."
- NYDaily
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