Two men convicted of posing as security agents

Two men accused of impersonating U.S. law enforcement officers and providing Secret Service employees with gifts, including rent-free residences, are still awaiting a decision from a court on whether they should be jailed.

“This is a difficult situation to navigate. I’ve never come across anything exactly like that “In the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey stated.

When it comes to detaining the two Washington men who were arrested this week for posing as Homeland Security special agents, the question is whether or not to detain them.

Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, was assigned to the Secret Service’s Protective Detail, which allegedly supplied them with presents.

Secret Service agents have already been suspended as a result of the inquiry into the matter, with four of them being placed on administrative leave on Monday.

As much as $4,000 a month was spent on housing for two agents, according to the prosecutor’s office. According to a sworn affidavit by an FBI agent, an agent in charge of protecting Jill Biden was given an assault gun.

At Friday’s hearing, the judge voiced displeasure over the defendants’ lack of answers to several of his queries, including as how or even if they paid for the flats and other presents, and whether they desired anything in return, for their acts.

When Harvey asked whether there was any proof of extortion, Harvey said, “I haven’t seen any, and you’re not presenting any.”

Attorney Joshua Rothstein told the judge that during a search of five residences connected to the defendants in Washington, D.C., agents discovered a number of weapons and tactical gear with law enforcement insignia such as bulletproof jackets, gas masks, police lights and other items.

Investigators had to utilise a moving truck to remove evidence from the apartment complex, he said, and the FBI also recovered documents providing profiles on a range of persons, some of which had been destroyed and needed to be reconstructed.

“Your honour, this is not merely a costume worn by two persons in celebration of Halloween. This is a major matter, “Rothstein was quoted as saying.

To him, both defendants were a threat to society.

According to him, Ali is a flight risk since he holds dual Pakistani-American citizenship, boasts of links to Pakistan’s intelligence organisation, and has flown to Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and Egypt in the last several years or requested permission to do so.

Taherzadeh, on the other hand, is accused of possessing weapons despite having a past domestic violence conviction and being denied a concealed carry certificate by officials in Washington, D.C.

Rothstein also argued that he should be imprisoned because he had deleted some of his social media posts in an attempt to hide proof of his offences.

Harvey, on the other hand, questioned if Taherzadeh’s ownership of a corporation called U.S. Special Police LLC justified his possession of tactical gear.

However, Rothstein admitted that Taherzadeh had previously served as a special police officer recognised by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of Washington, but that the firm no longer held such designation.

And their licence is gone, he added. “They have no guns registered to them.”

There was no quick response from a representative for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

On Monday, the detention hearing will resume, and both men’s attorneys are anticipated to argue for their release.

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