Suspects in Kansas terrorism plot targeting Muslims ask to delay trial start

Two of the three defendants in an alleged Kansas terrorism plot targeting Muslims asked a court Friday to continue the start of their trial, which is scheduled to begin April 25.

Curtis Wayne Allen filed the motion in federal court in Wichita, with co-defendant Gavin Wayne Wright and the government joining the request. The third defendant, Patrick Eugene Stein, opposed the motion and asked that his case be severed from the others.

The southwest Kansas men were charged in October with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction in what authorities said was a plot to bomb a Garden City, Kan., apartment complex and mosque where Somali immigrants live and worship.

The domestic terrorism charges stemmed from an eight-month undercover investigation by the FBI. Authorities said the men were members of a small, isolated militia group that called itself the Crusaders.

According to the criminal complaint, the three men stockpiled weapons, ammunition and components to make explosives, conducted surveillance to identify possible targets and talked of distributing a manifesto to coincide with the planned attack — a “bloodbath,” they allegedly said, that was intended to “wake people up.”

Friday’s motion says that additional time is necessary to prepare for trial because the discovery process is ongoing and “possible new charges may require more experts or additional analysis.” Those factors, the motion says, outweigh “the best interest of the public and defendants in a speedy trial.”

The judge has not yet ruled on the motion. Wright, Allen and Stein remain in federal custody.

This story was originally published March 3, 2017 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Suspects in Kansas terrorism plot targeting Muslims ask to delay trial start."