Courtroom

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is being accused of giving an ultimatum to four Muslim Americans. According to the Huffington Post, the FBI wanted these four Muslim Americans to become informants for the FBI. However, when these men denied the FBI’s request, they consequently added their names to the United State’s “no fly list”. The “no fly list” prevents any person from boarding a plane starting from, ending, or passing over the country.

Three of the plaintiffs, Muhammad Tanvir, Jameel Algibhah, Naveed Shinwari, claim they were added to the “no fly list” after refusing, for religious reasons, to serve as FBI informants. The fourth plaintiff, Awais Sajjad, said he was put on the list, and was “subjected to extensive interrogation”.

These four Muslim men filed a lawsuit against the FBI in New York’s United States District Court. The men claim the “no fly list” violates their First and Fifth Amendment rights. They asked the court to remove their names from the “no fly list” and award them compensatory damages which were not disclosed. These men are claiming the FBI exploited them for intelligence-gathering to become an informant.

The defendants for this lawsuit include Attorney General Eric Holder, FBI Director James Comey, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Terrorist Screen Center Director Christopher Piehota, and a number of FBI agents. At this time, the FBI does not comment on ongoing litigation.