Siraj Wahhaj and the four other adults arrested at a filthy New Mexico compound where 11 starving children were held and one apparently died were released with bond on Monday. The decision stunned many observers of the case, given the clearly abusive treatment of the children, the outstanding warrant from Georgia against Wahhaj for kidnapping his own son, and the fact that children rescued from the camp told police they were being trained to conduct terrorist attacks on schools. The defendants were ordered to post $20,000 bond each, wear ankle monitors, and remain in regular contact with their attorneys until their trial concludes. CNN reported the defense successfully argued that the cultists, whom local police described as “extremist Muslims,” were merely following their religious beliefs and posed no threat to the community: “What I’ve heard here today is troubling, definitely. Troubling facts about numerous children in far from ideal circumstances and individuals who are living in a very unconventional way — although if you have lived in northern New Mexico for any period of time you are aware that many people here live in unconventional ways,” Judge Sarah Backus said. Defendant Siraj Wahhaj and his relatives — sisters Hujrah Wahhaj and Subhannah Wahhaj, his partner Jany Leveille, and brother-in-law Lucas Morten — each face 11 counts of child abuse. They have pleaded not guilty. Most troubling was evidence about the apparent death of 3-year-old Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, Backus said. Remains of a young boy found on the compound are awaiting positive identification. But the judge said none of the evidence told her anything about the surviving children, who are in state custody away from the compound. “The state alleges there was a big plan afoot but the state has not shown to my satisfaction by clear and convincing evidence what in fact that plan was,” Backus said. The judge’s decision was denounced as irresponsible by some observers, evidently including a number of New Mexico police officers. Some question exists about whether Siraj Wahhaj himself would be released, his case presumably being different because of the Georgia warrant: BREAKING #NewMexico judge makes CRAZY decision to release most adults arrested from #NewMexicoCompound, saying lack of evidence they pose direct threat to the community. I talked to NM police who are shocked & dismayed. One source says Siraj Ibn Wahhaj is NOT being released — Ryan Mauro (@ryanmauro) August 14, 2018 NBC correspondent Gadi Schwartz, who has been following the case closely, pointed out that New Mexico has extraordinarily tough requirements for proving that defendants are a menace to society: Quick note on NM law… Burden is on prosecution to prove a defendant is so dangerous that no other condition of release, pre-trial, will reasonably protect public safety. State must prove by clear and convincing evidence. #NMCompound @NBCNews — Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) August 14, 2018 The judge’s decision was still hard to swallow, given the number of firearms and alarming literature found at the compound. Defense attorneys argued that the guns were all legally purchased, and structures that appeared to be defenses against a law-enforcement siege were actually structures commonly erected by local residents to block extreme weather. Schwartz also documented the tunnel complex dug beneath the site, which is much more extensive than early reports suggested, including both a cave where children were made to sleep and an escape route: THREAD: This week we were given rare access inside the NM compound where authorities think children were getting weapons training to carry out school shootings. This is part of the tunnel that extends out from the property. @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/1tuGlkeHzX — Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) August 11, 2018 This is video provided to us showing a side chamber where children were believed to have stayed – off to the right is a small escape opening. pic.twitter.com/3N2UVykx1e — Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) August 11, 2018 Prosecutors introduced testimony from police and FBI agents that the group has violent intentions and plans to attack “banks, schools, and government agencies.” According to this testimony, the actual leader of the extremist band is not Siraj Wahhaj, but 35-year-old Jany Leveille, who was revealed to be his wife. Leveille evidently believed Wahhaj’s three-year-old son by another woman was the reincarnation of Jesus, who is revered as a prophet in Islam and prophesied to return to Earth someday. Leveille also thought the boy, Abdul-Ghani, was her own son rather than a child Wahhaj had with his first wife in Georgia. CNN reported that Wahhaj and Leveille are the biological parents of 9 of the 11 children rescued from the compound. Abdul-Ghani was kidnapped from Georgia by Siraj Wahhaj, who said he wanted to conduct an elaborate Muslim prayer ritual to heal the boy’s severe neurological condition. According to children rescued from the New Mexico camp, Abdul-Ghani had a seizure and died in the spring, and his remains are those discovered by police in the tunnel complex. According to USA Today, the police said: Abdul-Ghani suffered from chronic illness and seizures, and in pleading for his return, his mother in December warned he would die if not given medical treatment. Instead of medical treatment, after kidnapping the boy and taking him to New Mexico, Wahhaj read Quran verses to the toddler while laying his hand on his forehead as the boy had seizures and foamed at the mouth. An FBI agent testified after interviewing two of the children, saying: Jany had a message from God that they needed to leave and head to New Mexico and that Abdul Wahhaj, once the demons were expelled from his body through religious rituals, that he would become Jesus and once he became Jesus he would instruct the others on the property, the family, what corrupt institutions to get rid of. A clearly distraught Sheriff Jeff Hogrefe of Taos County, New Mexico, terminated a CNN interview on Monday after he explained why his department could not legally have stormed the compound sooner and the reporter suggested that moving earlier might have saved Abdul-Ghani’s life. “Thanks for reminding me of that,” the sheriff retorted. “It’s not like it’s hard enough to live every day wishing that I had got there quicker. But you’ve got to get there lawfully.”<doc-sep>Los Angeles (AFP) - A man arrested in a raid on a squalid compound in New Mexico was training children living there to carry out school shootings, prosecutors said Wednesday. Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, was arrested along with four other people on Friday at the desert compound in Amalia, New Mexico, and has been charged with 11 counts of child abuse. Eleven children aged one to 15 were found living on the compound in filthy conditions, prosecutors said, with no clean water or electricity. Authorities also found little in the way of food. Wahhaj is also under investigation for the death of a 12th child -- possibly his son, Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj -- whose body was discovered on the property. Prosecutors quoted the foster parent of one of the children as claiming that Wahhaj "had trained the child in the use of an assault rifle in preparation for future school shootings." As a result, he faces another investigation for teaching "the use, application or making of any firearm, destructive device or technique capable of causing injury or death" with the intention that the knowledge be used unlawfully -- which is classed as a felony. "The Defendant ... is under investigation ... based upon the training of children with weapons in furtherance of a conspiracy to commit school shootings," prosecutors said Wednesday in a court filing requesting that Wahhaj be held in custody. "Trip hazards, woods with nails sticking up, broken glass, bottles, and open trenches littered the property," it added. "Trash scattered around the property, no clean water, no electricity, no indoor plumbing and the children were clothed in rags." Prosecutors also said loaded firearms were found at the compound. "(Wahhaj) poses a great danger to the children found on the property as well as a threat to the community as a whole due to the presence of firearms and his intent to use these firearms in a violent and illegal manner," the filing said. Story continues Three women believed to be the mothers of the 11 children found at the compound were also arrested in Friday's raid along with another man, Lucas Morten, and charged with child abuse. Wahhaj is wanted in the state of Georgia for the alleged abduction of his four-year-old son. Authorities are investigating whether the remains found at the New Mexico compound are those of missing Abdul. In the first operation, when the 11 children were discovered, Abdul was not found. But officers returned to the site after questioning the suspects last week, which led them to believe that the boy was still there. "We discovered the remains yesterday on Abdul's fourth birthday," Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said Tuesday, appearing to fight back tears. The boy's mother had told police her child, who she said suffered from seizures along with developmental and cognitive delays, went to the park with his father Wahhaj last December and never returned. She also told authorities Wahhaj wanted to exorcize his son because he considered that his disability was due to a demon.<doc-sep>Eleven children were rescued from a compound in Taos County, New Mexico according to a statement from the Taos County Sheriff's Office. This Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, photo released by Taos County Sheriff's Office shows a rural compound during an unsuccessful search for a missing 3-year-old boy in Amalia, N.M. Law enforcement officers searching the compound for the missing child didn't locate him but found 11 other children in filthy conditions and hardly any food, a sheriff said Saturday. The children ranging in age from 1 to 15 were removed from the compound and turned over to state child-welfare workers, Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said.in Taos, N.M. (Taos County Sheriff's Office via AP) Imam Siraj Wahhaj is the FATHER of Siraj Wahhaj (same name), who was arrested at the compound outside of Taos, New Mexico. (CNN) — Court documents released this week are revealing new allegations in the discovery of emaciated children at a New Mexico compound – including that at least one of the kids was being trained to commit school shootings, and that an adult buried a long-missing child there. Authorities raided the compound near rural Amalia last Friday, rescuing 11 starving children and arresting two men and three women, after what started as an investigation into one of the men’s alleged abduction of his son in Georgia. That boy – Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj – was not among those 11 children, but authorities discovered the unidentified remains of a young male at the compound Monday. In court filings this week, prosecutors allege: • One of the rescued children told a foster parent the suspects “trained the child in the use of an assault rifle in preparation for future school shootings.” • They believe the children were taken to New Mexico to receive advanced weapons training but didn’t reveal any further details. • They argue that if the suspects were to be released, there is a substantial likelihood the defendants may commit new crimes due to their planning and preparation for school shootings. • At least two of the rescued children say that Abdul-Ghani died at the compound. One of the children says an adult buried the boy there. Pat Lopez/CNN The five suspects, here in an artist's rendering, appeared Wednesday in a Taos court. Prosecutors on Wednesday asked a judge to have the five suspects – Abdul-Ghani’s father, Siraj Wahhaj; the man’s sisters, Hujrah Wahhaj and Subhannah Wahhaj; Lucas Morten; and Jany Leveille – held in jail without bail. Authorities have said the adults and children were on a property with a makeshift shooting range and two main dwelling areas – a partially buried camper trailer surrounded in part by trenches and old tires, and a parked utility truck. Investigators also found an AR-15 rifle, loaded 30-round magazines, four loaded pistols and many rounds of ammunition, officials said. Missing child’s search unveils horror Police raided the squalid New Mexico compound on Friday, hoping to find Abdul-Ghani. His mother in Georgia says he has been missing for more than eight months. The boy was last seen leaving his Jonesboro, Georgia, home with his father in late November, and it’s unclear what happened to him. His mother had said he cannot walk and suffers seizures, and requires constant medical attention. The remains of a boy were found at the compound Monday – the day of the missing child’s fourth birthday. In a court document filed Sunday, Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe wrote that one of the rescued children alleged that “Uncle Lucas” had buried Abdul-Ghani at the New Mexico property after washing the body twice. On Thursday, New Mexico’s chief medical investigator said the body’s identification would not be quick, because of its state of decomposition. “If we must rely on DNA results, identification could take many weeks,” Dr. Kurt Nolte said. Sheriff: Suspects considered ‘extremists’ Hogrefe, the sheriff, said authorities got a warrant to search the property last week after they received a message from what appeared to be someone inside the compound that said “we are starving and need food and water.” “I absolutely knew that we couldn’t wait on another agency to step up and we had to go check this out as soon as possible,” Hogrefe said in a news release Saturday, “so I began working on a search warrant right after I got that intercepted message – it had to be a search warrant and a tactical approach for our own safety because we had learned the occupants were most likely heavily armed and considered extremist of the Muslim belief.” The sheriff did not elaborate. Later, in a phone interview with the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper on Sunday, Hogrefe said FBI analysts told him the suspects appeared to be “extremist of the Muslim belief.” CNN has reached out to the suspects’ public defender for comment. The FBI declined to comment. Suspect cited ‘God’s orders’ in text, neighbor says Morgan Lee/AP Defendant Lucas Morten arrives in court Wednesday in Taos. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a neighbor of the compound told CNN about exchanging texts with Morten in recent months. The texts, which CNN is unable to verify independently, appear to show Morten asking for supplies, and asserting that, under “God’s orders” he could drive only from dusk until dawn. “Good morning Big guy! Can i give u some gas cans and cash could uy hook me up. … Please and thanks in advance,” reads one of the texts to the neighbor, sent on April 26. “Hey Bud I got $50 towards gas or whatever so my wife can ride along with your wife to get some groceries,” reads another, sent on the same day. What’s next for the suspects? The five suspects were each arraigned Wednesday in a Taos courtroom on 11 counts of child abuse related to the neglect and abuse of the children. Morgan Lee/AP Siraj Wahhaj, left, sits in court Wednesday with state public defender Aleksandar Kostich. Morten was also charged with harboring a fugitive, Siraj Wahhaj, on suspicion of knowing that he was committing custodial interference with Abdul-Ghani. The suspects pleaded not guilty and are expected to appear at a pretrial detention hearing Monday, according to Aleksandar Kostich, a state public defender. Family members of the suspects said they didn’t know anything of the alleged training for school shootings. The father of Wahhaj and his two sisters, Siraj Wahhaj, a New York imam, has “no knowledge” of the alleged training, said his spokesman, Imam Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid. On Thursday, the elder Wahhaj told reporters in New York that “everybody in my family is perplexed” by what authorities found in New Mexico. The imam said the plea for help came through Facebook: We need food, we’re starving. The elder Siraj Wahhaj said his daughter sent the message to a man in Atlanta who passed it on to him. That daughter sent the message about starvation, and she revealed the group’s location when she was asked where supplies could be sent, he said. As soon as they received the location they shared it with police, Wahhaj said. “To me, obviously something happened – mental disorder, or something,” he said of his children. “This doesn’t seem like them.” The imam said he has not spoken with his son since late 2017. Nor had he heard directly from his two daughters, he said. The elder Wahhaj was the first Muslim to offer an opening prayer before the US House of Representatives, the Muslim Alliance in North America said. He was also a character witness for convicted 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind Omar Abdel-Rahman. Mother reported boy missing Shariyf Muhammad, attorney for Abdul-Ghani’s mother, Hakima Ramzi, said she “has no knowledge of any training for school shootings.” Ramzi has not been charged in the case. She reported her son missing to Clayton County, Georgia, authorities in December after the younger Wahhaj took their son to the park and never returned, according to a police report. “My husband said he was taking Abdul-Ghani to the park, and didn’t come back. That was in November 2017.<doc-sep>
A man arrested at a makeshift compound in New Mexico where 11 children and the remains of a boy were found was training one of the children to commit school shootings, court documents alleged Wednesday. Documents filed in 8th District Court in Taos County quoted the foster parent of one of the 11 children as having told investigators that Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, the father of a missing Georgia boy, was conducting weapons training at the squalid compound in the northern part of the state. Wahhaj "had trained the [foster parent's] child in the use of an assault rifle in preparation for future school shootings," according to the document, which argues that Wahhaj should be held without bond. He entered no plea during an initial hearing Wednesday, and a bond hearing is pending. The allegation was first reported by The Associated Press. Authorities raided the compound in Amalia on Friday during a search for Wahhaj's son, a 3-year-old who went missing eight months ago in Jonesboro, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Wahhaj was the prime suspect. Once there, they came across Wahhaj, four other adults and 11 hungry children ages 1 to 15. But they didn't find his son. When investigators returned to the property on Monday, they found remains of a boy. A positive identification is still pending, but officials believe they are those of Wahhaj's son, Abdul-ghani. The child's fourth birthday was the same day that the remains were discovered. Authorities said that Wahhaj had multiple firearms, including an assault rifle, and that they believed a shooting range was on the property. They arrested the adults and charged them with 11 counts of child abuse. Wahhaj was also charged with interfering with a parent's custodial rights, while a second man, Lucas Morton, 40, was also charged with harboring a fugitive. The death of the unidentified boy remains under investigation and wasn't included in the charges. Few details are known about the residents of the compound. After the raid, Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said that a tactical unit had been sent because the residents were likely "heavily armed and considered extremist of the Muslim belief." Wahhaj identified himself as “the son of the famous Muslim Imam Siraj Wahhaj” in a 2006 federal court filing obtained by the Associated Press. He said he was harassed by customs agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport before and after a trip to Morocco, according to the AP. The allegation in court documents that Wahhaj was training a child to commit school shootings is another bizarre twist in the case. Wahhaj is accused of having left Georgia in December with Abdul-ghani; the boy's mother told police that Wahhaj wanted to perform an exorcism on him because he thought the boy was possessed by the devil. He took the boy to a park but never returned, the woman said, according to an extradition warrant. Abdul-ghani struggled with seizures and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a birth defect caused by lack of oxygen and blood flow, and he couldn't walk, the warrant said. Siraj Wahhaj in a sheriff's photo released Friday. Taos County Sheriff's Office / AP Jason and Tanya Badger, who own the lot adjoining the land where the compound was built, said that the group set up camp around Christmas and that they asked the Taos County Sheriff's Office to remove the group because they believed the newcomers were encroaching on their land. A judge dismissed an eviction notice in June, according to court records. The Badgers told NBC affiliate KOB of Albuquerque that they believed they saw the missing boy in February, before they learned that he had been abducted in Georgia. He was listed in the National Crime Information Center Databases as a missing person shortly after he disappeared in December. "We saw him here alive and now he's not, and we have to live with that," Tanya Badger told the station through tears. Jason Badger added: "Something should have been done sooner. It's downright pathetic." Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe told reporters on Tuesday that FBI surveillance was unable to confirm that Wahhaj was there and that authorities didn't have enough solid evidence to move in at the time. The Badgers also told KOB on Wednesday that they returned to the property after Friday's raid and found weaponry that authorities still hadn't seized, including a tactical shotgun, a 9-mm pistol and plenty of ammunition.