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Texas courthouse break-in was prank, not terrorism: officials

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Bexar County Sheriff's department is towing away a recreation vehicle (RV) that was parked in front of Bexar County Courthouse in downtown San Antonio,Texas early morning on October 19, 2011. REUTERS/Michael Board

Bexar County Sheriff's department is towing away a recreation vehicle (RV) that was parked in front of Bexar County Courthouse in downtown San Antonio,Texas early morning on October 19, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Michael Board

SAN ANTONIO | Wed Oct 19, 2011 4:01pm EDT

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Officials in San Antonio say that the five foreign men arrested during a courthouse break-in early on Wednesday were pranksters who were likely intoxicated.

"There is no reason to think this is a terrorist incident," Bexar County Sheriff Amadeo Ortiz told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Police had said Wednesday morning that they found photographs of public buildings, water systems and malls from various U.S. cities in the men's van.

The men, at least three of whom were in their 20s, were going to be questioned by a joint terrorism task force including the FBI and immigration authorities, officials had said Wednesday morning.

Bexar County spokeswoman Laura Jesse had said three men were found inside the 120-year-old Bexar County Courthouse, a landmark in downtown San Antonio, and two in a large recreational vehicle parked in front of the building.

She said all five were Moroccans.

Inside the RV, officials say they found "photographs of infrastructure" that they said were taken in cities across the United States.

(Reporting by Jim Forsyth; Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Jerry Norton)
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Comments (12)
dixiedog44 wrote:
Why do we allow ANY foreign visitors unlimited access to the whole US without even an itenerary and reasons for the visit to each particular place? Of course they would lie, but their stated itenerary and reasons would give hints as to which ones are worthy of additional investigation. These people were obviously spying for terrorists, and probably terriorists themselves. Since we have supposedly declared war on Terriorism, this should qualify these people to be subject to the consequences as any military spy caught in wartime espionage. They should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Oct 19, 2011 11:05am EDT  --  Report as abuse
SAGeorge wrote:
These men appear to have been in the area for some time. My process server saw one or two of them in a local bank cashing large checks just under $10,000 over the last six months. They were reported to the FBI

Oct 19, 2011 11:19am EDT  --  Report as abuse
Lakini wrote:
Five Moroccan MUSLIMS. This has been reported through other news outlets and that didn’t forget to include that fact. Why did Reuters feel it was necessary to omit it? ROPMA

Oct 19, 2011 11:52am EDT  --  Report as abuse
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