Married couple from Suffolk County, New York, was unpleasantly surprised by discovering six men from a joint terrorism task force at their house who came to check if they were terrorists. The raid was caused by “suspicious” web search of “pressure cookers” and “backpacks”.
It seems that "pressure cookers" internet inquiries attract close attention of the US security forces since Boston explosions, where two Tsarnaev brothers allegedly used this item. The Suffolk County Police Department released a statement where explained their action by receiving a tip “regarding suspicious computer searches conducted by a recently released employee”: “The former employee’s computer searches took place on this employee’s workplace computer. On that computer, the employee searched the terms “pressure cooker bombs” and “backpacks.” After interviewing the company representatives, Suffolk County Police Detectives visited the subject’s home to ask about the suspicious internet searches. The incident was investigated by Suffolk County Police Department’s Criminal Intelligence Detectives and was determined to be non-criminal in nature,” – the statement reads. But Michele Catalano, the woman whose family suffered an unexpected raid, says her web searches was only for pressure cookers, while her husband's was hunting for backpacks and her "news junkie" son's craving for information on the Boston bombings. “They were peppering my husband with questions. Where is he from? Where are his parents from? They asked about me, where was I, where do I work, where do my parents live. Do you have any bombs, they asked. Do you own a pressure cooker? My husband said no, but we have a rice cooker. Can you make a bomb with that? My husband said no, my wife uses it to make quinoa. What the hell is quinoa, they asked,” – The Atlantic Wire cites Michele Catalano. “Have you ever looked up how to make a pressure cooker bomb? My husband, ever the oppositional kind, asked them if they themselves weren’t curious as to how a pressure cooker bomb works, if they ever looked it up. Two of them admitted they did,” – Catalano added. But up to this moment it is still unclear, which agency knocked on Catalano's door. The Guardian reported that an FBI spokesperson said that Catalano "was visited by Nassau County police department … working in conjunction with Suffolk County police department." But detective Garcia of the Nassau County Police, however, said to The Atlantic Wire that his department was "not involved in any way." Similarly, FBI spokesperson Peter Donald confirmed that his agency wasn't involved in the visit either. Michelу Catalano, who is also a freelance writer, said in her blog that she is “scared” and all she knows “is if I’m going to buy a pressure cooker in the near future, I’m not doing it online.” Voice of Russia, The Atlantic Wire, The Guardian. Source: Article
