President Barack Obama Visits San Bernardino

President Barack Obama stopped in San Bernardino on Friday to hold a private meeting with the families of the victims of the mass shooting that took place on Dec. 2 in San Bernardino at the Inland Regional Center. The president did not make a public appearance, but met with the families privately. “You had people from every background, every faith, some described their loved ones who had come to this country as immigrants, others who had lived in the area all of their lives,” Mr. Obama told reporters after meeting with the families in a library at Indian Springs High School, saying their diversity was “so representative of this country.” “As difficult as this time is for them and for the entire community,” he added, “they’re also representative of the strength and the unity and the love that exists in this community and in this country.” “You had people from every background, every faith," President Obama told reporters after meeting with families of the San Bernardino victims on Friday night. “Even as we are vigilant about preventing terrorist attacks from happening, even as we insist that we can’t accept the notion of mass shootings in public places and places of work and worship, we have to remind ourselves of the overwhelming good that exists out there,” Mr. Obama said. The families, he added, “could not have been more inspiring and more proud of their loved ones or more insistent that something good comes out of this tragedy.” The White House says Mr. Obama stopped in Southern California while on his way to Hawaii for Christmas vacation. On Dec. 2 Syed Rizwan Farook, an American citizen, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, a Pakistani national who came to the United States on a fiancée visa, entered a training session and holiday party for county workers and opened fire. The couple later died in a shootout with police. In related news Enrique Marquez Jr., 24, of Riverside, a longtime friend of Syed Rizwan Farook, the male shooter in the San Bernardino, California, terrorist attack, was charged on Dec. 17 with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists based upon his role in terrorist plotting with Farook in 2011 and 2012, the unlawful purchase of the two assault rifles used in the deadly shooting two weeks ago and defrauding immigration authorities by entering into a sham marriage with a member of Farook’s family. Marquez was arrested by the FBI and is expected to make his initial court appearance in federal court in Riverside. Marquez was charged in a three-count criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California with conspiring to provide material support—including personnel, firearms and explosives—to terrorists in 2011 and 2012; with making a false statement in connection with acquisition of firearms; and immigration fraud. “Enrique Marquez Jr. is charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists for his role in plotting attacks on American soil in 2011 and 2012, attacks which were, fortunately, not carried out. He is also charged with a firearms violation for making a straw purchase of weapons for Syed Rizwan Farook—weapons that were eventually used to carry out the recent terrorist attack in San Bernardino,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “We will continue to investigate, and seek to hold accountable anybody found to be involved in, that heinous act. I would like to extend my gratitude to all the members of law enforcement involved in this ongoing investigation,” said Carlin. Four days after the attack on the IRC, Marquez met with law enforcement officials investigating the incident. Marquez admitted a series of statements that are detailed in the affidavit. In addition to the charges related to the straw purchase of the rifles and the plans to commit terrorist attacks, Marquez is charged with defrauding U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in relation to a sham marriage with a member of Farook’s extended family so that she could obtain legal status in the United States. In return for his participation in the fraud, she paid Marquez $200 per month. The charge of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. The charge of making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of firearms carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The charge of immigration fraud carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. If convicted, any potential sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal history, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. [END]