Here’s the deal; if you want to start your own little mosque and preach for the government to be replaced by a caliphate run by a man in prison for life, it’s generally a good idea not to draw attention to yourself by buying and selling stolen weapons, and it’s definitely a bad idea to go around telling people to help overthrow the government. Luqman Ameen Abdullah converted to Islam and began preaching antigovernmental rhetoric in a small apartment in Detroit, urging his members to equip themselves with firearms. The FBI freaked out, thinking they had a home grown terrorist cell on their hands (not altogether an unwarranted fear), and so they raided the place.

Through a 45-page complaint filed in the case alleges Abdullah “calls his followers to an offensive jihad” and preaches that every Muslim should “have a weapon and should not be scared to use their weapon when needed,” charges in the case to not include terrorism or national security crimes.

The only person to actually resist arrest is Abdullah himself, who opened fire (killing one of the dogs) and was later shot dead. Now, members of the Muslim community are upset and shocked over the shooting, and claim that he was an upstanding member of the community.

Here’s the deal; I’m not entirely unsympathetic to people who distrust the government and feel the need to make strong political statements. I draw the line, however, when someone decides that extreme violence is the answer to their problems. There’s already enough fear and paranoia concerning terrorism; it’s not generally a good idea to fan the flames. It’s also a terrible idea to shoot at the FBI when they raid your place. You tend to get shot in the face when that happens.