WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer today criticized the President and his Administration’s decision to bring self-confessed 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees to New York City to face trial in civilian court.

“Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his cohorts violated the law of war and should be prosecuted in a war tribunal, which is why I find it disturbing that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is being returned to the scene of his horrific crime to be tried by our federal court system.

“The President and his Administration are making very serious decisions about Guantanamo Bay without any sort of plan or realization that bringing these terrorists to American soil poses serious security threats to the American people. We only have to remember the horrific attack of September 11, 2001, the bombing of the USS Cole, attacks on our embassies in Africa and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing to see that terrorists like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed have been ruthless in their desire to destroy innocent life and break the will and resolve of the United States.”

Luetkemeyer is a co-sponsor of H.R.2294, the Keep Terrorists Out of America Act that will ensure the terrorists held in the Guantanamo Bay prison are not imported into the United States and makes clear that governors and state legislators must pre-approve the transfer or release of any terrorist detainee into their respective states. It also requires the President to meet strict criteria and certification standards before any individual detained at the Guantanamo prison could be brought to the United States.