Following the capture of 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Friday night, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and John McCain (R-AZ) issued a joint statement urging the Obama administration to treat the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings as an enemy combatant.
Even prior to Tsarnaev’s capture, Graham took to Twitter arguging that the suspect, who became a U.S. citizen on Sept. 11, 2012, should not be read his Miranda rights.
“The last thing we may want to do is read Boston suspect Miranda Rights telling him to ‘remain silent,’ Graham tweeted, hours before authorities found Tsarnaev hiding out in a boat in Watertown, Mass.
A DOJ official confirmed after Tsarnaev’s capture that he would not be read his Miranda rights — at least for now — invoking the public safety exception.
The statement, via Graham’s Facebook page.
“We truly appreciate the hard work and dedication of our law enforcement and intelligence communities.
“It is clear the events we have seen over the past few days in Boston were an attempt to kill American citizens and terrorize a major American city. The accused perpetrators of these acts were not common criminals attempting to profit from a criminal enterprise, but terrorist trying to injure, maim, and kill innocent Americans.
“Now that the suspect is in custody, the last thing we should want is for him to remain silent. It is absolutely vital the suspect be questioned for intelligence gathering purposes. We need to know about any possible future attacks which could take additional American lives. The least of our worries is a criminal trial which will likely be held years from now.
“Under the Law of War we can hold this suspect as a potential enemy combatant not entitled to Miranda warnings or the appointment of counsel. Our goal at this critical juncture should be to gather intelligence and protect our nation from further attacks.
“We remain under threat from radical Islam and we hope the Obama Administration will seriously consider the enemy combatant option.
“We will stand behind the Administration if they decide to hold this suspect as an enemy combatant.”
