© 2024 KMUW
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Garden City Bomb Suspect Waives Detention Hearing

wstrachan1, flickr Creative Commons

A Kansas man will stay behind bars until his trial for his part in an alleged conspiracy by a militia group to detonate truck bombs in Garden City.

The apartment complex they targeted is home to many Somali immigrants who are Muslim.

Curtis Allen waived his detention hearing and entered a not guilty plea to the charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. The FBI called it "a domestic terrorism act."

The two other men involved in the plot already pled not guilty and are also in jail.

Since the arrests on Oct. 14, the residents of Garden City are coming together as a community. Garden City Chief of Police Michael Utz says his department has had several meetings with the Somali immigrants and residents.

"We discussed how things were going, how they felt, whether they felt any fears," Utz says. "We were reassured that everyone was feeling safe and secure in the community, that they appreciate the efforts by law enforcement."

Utz says police also checked with the Garden City school district and found all the children going to school a week after the incident.

--

Carla Eckels is assistant news director and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels.

 
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

 

Carla Eckels is Director of Organizational Culture at KMUW. She produces and hosts the R&B and gospel show Soulsations and brings stories of race and culture to The Range with the monthly segment In the Mix. Carla was inducted into The Kansas African American Museum's Trailblazers Hall of Fame in 2020 for her work in broadcast/journalism.