There ought to be a law.An 18-year-old recently arrested on terrorism charges in Arizona has the mental capacity of a child and had been in regular contact with the FBI for years before his arrest, according to family members, former teachers, and medical documents reviewed by The Intercept. Mahin Khan was arrested July 1 on charges of plotting to support the Taliban as well as the militant group the Islamic State and commit acts of terrorism in the local community.
People close to Khan say that he suffered from serious mental and emotional illnesses and that the FBI was aware of this, having met with him regularly since he was a young teenager.According to medical records and statements from family members, he was first referred to the FBI after sending a threatening email to one of his teachers at the age of 15. After an initial meeting with the FBI, he spent 45 days at an inpatient psychiatric facility for evaluation. His family says this stay at the facility was coordinated with FBI officials. Agents reportedly continued to meet with Khan regularly after he returned home and continued to do so up until the time of his arrest.
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During these visits, which occurred every few months, no lawyer was present, as Khan’s family assumed the FBI had been meeting to “help him.”
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At an initial hearing, a Joint Terrorism Task Force agent reportedly confirmed that authorities had provided Khan with a prepaid cellphone so that he could communicate with a government informant. In the course of his conversations with that informant, Khan is alleged to have indicated his willingness to kill hundreds of people, while also musing about attacking a local motor vehicle registration office or a Jewish community center.
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“Mahin is 18, but mentally he is like a child,” his father, Atif Khan, said. “He doesn’t even have a driver’s license because he can’t pass his test, he can’t even tie his shoes or take care of himself in the most basic ways. We didn’t let him have a phone because we didn’t trust him with one, but now we have found out that he had been using a phone given to him by the FBI.”
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A community activist told The Intercept that after Khan’s initial contact with the FBI, he began regularly meeting with the teenager in an attempt to mentor him. He said that during these meetings, Khan had exhibited obvious signs of mental illness. “He was unable to even tie his shoelaces and his mother would have to do it for him.
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His statement echoed those made by a former tutor of Khan’s in an interview with local Arizona media, in which the tutor said Khan had “the mentality of a 6-year-old” and he had told Khan’s mother that there was no point in having him tutored as he was “unable to learn anything.”
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Medical documents reviewed by The Intercept seem to confirm that Khan suffered from cognitive impairments. A developmental evaluation conducted by psychologists last year found that Khan “requires considerable support from parents to complete day-to-day skills.”
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Court documents indicate the formal investigation began as early as February of this year. On June 18, Khan turned 18 and was arrested shortly afterward. “They waited until two weeks after his 18th birthday to arrest him, but even now he doesn’t understand the gravity of the things going on around him,” his father said.
The Intercept
And, for future reference, in case anyone needs to be told: never, never, never trust the FBI.
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