Flying Imams trying to pull another fast one

The flying Imams secretly try to get the public barred from having access to the case.

They were DENIED.

Bwa-ha-ha.

A federal judge overseeing a lawsuit filed by six Muslim men who were removed from a US Airways flight last fall has declined to limit public access to the case.

Omar T. Mohammedi, a New York attorney for the six Muslim scholars, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he sought limited media access because he felt some of the coverage of the case has been biased against his clients.

"When you think of the media, and the way they have been portraying this case, it has not been very helpful. It has been biased," Mohammedi said. "That has caused a lot of stress, a lot of stress on our clients, as well as made it difficult for us to handle this case ... in a manner that it should be handled."

In a letter dated Tuesday and addressed to Mohammedi, U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery noted that Mohammedi had requested that the court remove members of the media from an electronic distribution list, bar members of the media from attending hearings, and hold proceedings in closed session.

"The Court declines to treat this case in the extraordinary manner that you request," the judge wrote. She added that the public and press have an interest in full access to judicial proceedings under the First Amendment. You have provided no legal authority supporting your request to limit public access to this case," Montgomery wrote. "While it is regrettable that anonymous individuals have threatened violence, the Court Security Officers will insure that the United States Courthouse here in Minneapolis is secure."

The judge's letter was entered in the case file, and it noted that further communications on the matter should also be filed through the court's electronic database.

The letters previously submitted on the issue were filed off the record and were not made public. Judge Montgomery said through a law clerk that she would have no comment beyond her letter.

Flying Imams and their car bomb chasing attorney = pwned.