College Professor Accused of Terrorist Ties Is Held in Florida

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A Palestinian college professor previously accused of having terrorist ties was arrested early Thursday by federal agents. He was one of several people arrested here, in Chicago and overseas, the FBI said.


Television reports showed Sami Al-Arian being led in handcuffs to FBI headquarters in Tampa after the arrest. His indictment is sealed until a court hearing scheduled for Thursday afternoon.[...]


The tenured computer engineering professor was placed on forced leave and banned from campus shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and his subsequent appearance on Fox News Channel. The school also is trying to dismiss him.


He was quizzed about links to known terrorists, and asked about tapes from the late 1980s and early 1990s in which he said ``Death to Israel'' in Arabic.