UPDATE MI Terror Threat

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

County prosecutors backed off terror charges filed against three Palestinian-American men from Texas who were found buying large numbers of cell phones. An attorney for the accused trio said the men now were being charged with two federal counts: conspiracy to defraud consumers with counterfeit goods and intent to promote the carrying on of a specific unlawful activity, and in this case the activity is conducting financial transactions involving the proceeds from counterfeit goods.

Supporters of the Texas men in the Michigan case say they were targeted because of their ethnicity. They say the trio was buying up prepaid cell phones to resell for a profit and their purchases had nothing to do with terrorism. The photos the men took of the Mackinac Bridge, which led to the surveillance charge, were innocent tourist snapshots, they contend.

The FBI said this week that there was no imminent threat to the Mackinac Bridge and no information linking the men to known terrorist groups. The head of the Michigan State Police said there was no indication the men were plotting any kind of attack.