Portland, Ore.
A Portland lawyer, Brandon Mayfield, was arrested in Oregon this week in connection with the deadly March train bombings in Madrid. The FBI detained Mayfield for questioning after a fingerprint on a bag of detonators abandoned in Madrid was identified as his. Mayfield, 37, is a Kansas native and Army veteran who converted to Islam in 1989. His only known link to radical Muslims came last year, when he represented a convicted member of a Portland terrorist cell in a child-custody case. “This somehow has to be some kind of a mistake,” said Mayfield’s former stepmother, Ruth Alexander. “They’re grasping at straws to try and nail people.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Three fun, festive activities to make the magic happen this Christmas DayInspire your children to help set the table, stage a pantomime and write thank-you letters this Christmas!
-
The best books of 2024 to give this ChristmasThe Week Recommends From Percival Everett to Rachel Clarke these are the critics' favourite books from 2024
-
Parmigianino: The Vision of St Jerome – masterpiece given 'new lease of life'The Week Recommends 'Spectacularly inventive' painting is back on display at the National Gallery
