by Brendan Maslauskas Dunn

A screening of the documentary “The Newburgh Sting” will take place on Monday, April 20 from 7:00pm – 9:00pm in AB 231 at Mohawk Valley Community College.

The film chronicles the story of four Black Muslim men living in the impoverished city of Newburgh, NY who were arrested in 2009 in a bombing plot. It was soon discovered however that the men were entrapped in an FBI sting operation and were encouraged to plot acts of terror by an FBI informant named Shahed Hussein.

The plot included the bombing of military airplanes as well as Synagogues in Riverdale, NY. Although the plot was introduced by the FBI informant and the actions were never carried out, the Newburgh Four are currently serving twenty-five year terms in prison. The case of the Newburgh Four has been picked up by the National Lawyers Guild because of the major injustice done to these men.

Director of the film David Heilbroner will be present at the screening for a Q&A following the film. Heilbroner also directed such films as “Stonewall Uprising” (2010) and “Waiting for Armageddon” (2009). He is a former prosecutor for the DA’s office in Manhattan.

Alicia McWilliams will also be present at the screening. McWilliams is featured in the documentary and is the aunt of David Williams, one of the Newburgh Four. She has long fought for the defense of the four men, is a community activist and currently lives in Utica where she is active with the Mohawk Valley Freedom School.

The event is sponsored by Club IF.

For more information on the film and case, please check out:

http://www.thenewburghsting.com/

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/8/25/terrorists_for_the_fbi_how_the

http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-03-02/news/were-the-newburgh-4-really-out-to-blow-up-synagogues/

For more information of the event, please contact Brendan at maslauskas84@gmail.com or 240-3149