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CNN Saturday Morning News

Doctor Arrested for Planning to Blow Up Florida Mosques

Aired August 24, 2002 - 07:09   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: A Florida doctor is in federal custody, accused of a plot against Muslims. Police found dozens of weapons and homemade explosives in his townhouse. Authorities say Dr. Robert Goldstein had drafted plans to blow up Islamic worship centers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area and elsewhere in Florida.
Kathryn Bursch of CNN affiliate WTSP reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHRYN BURSCH, WTSP CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dressed in a hospital gown, Robert Goldstein appeared in federal court bleary-eyed and dazed. The court documents reveal extremely meticulous plans to attack mosques and Islamic centers in Florida.

Hearing of the plan, some local Muslims, like USF student Layelle Saad, can't help but be scared.

LAYELLE SAAD, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA STUDENT: Having all those weapons in his house, it doesn't seem like it was a spur-of-the- moment thing, it seems like it's well thought-out, well planned, and I dare say a terrorist.

BURSCH: So what were Goldstein's plans for his arsenal of weapons and bombs? Inside his town home, investigators found a list of 50 Islamic worship centers in the Tampa Bay area and beyond, and this specific plan to bomb one of them. The written objective, "Kill all rags at this Islamic education center."

Another section states, "The plastique timer unit is designed to detonate when ragheads inside -- if they don't panic, they die inside. If they panic for some reason, they will try to get to the parking lot and out the gate, where they will set off the tripwire and detonate the Claymore."

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was the basketball there, this is the main building...

BURSCH: Goldstein's map does not include an exact location, but the layout is very similar to the largest Islamic center in Tampa, the playground, the parking lot, the main building, all there.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Thank God he had been caught, he's caught before he done his damage.

BURSCH: But prayers for safety will continue in these houses of worship, because Goldstein's mission plan also calls for help from a Val or Mike. And Islamic leaders fear Goldstein may not be acting alone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That report was from Kathryn Bursch of CNN affiliate WTSP.

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