Watch The Newburgh Sting

"The Newburgh Sting" is a documentary film by David Heilbroner and Kate Davis that tells the story of a group of African American Muslim men in Newburgh, NY, who were arrested in 2009 on charges of plotting to blow up two synagogues and shoot down military planes using missiles. The film draws from hours of surveillance footage, court transcripts, and other documents to piece together the story of how the FBI enticed and entrapped the men into committing a crime they may not have been capable of carrying out themselves.

The film begins by establishing the past histories of the four men who were ultimately charged with the crime: James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams, and Laguerre Payen. We see how each man had struggled in his own way - with poverty, addiction, homelessness, and incarceration - before they were recruited by an FBI informant identified as "Maqsood" in the film. Maqsood is shown in court as Shahed Hussain, a Pakistani national who had been caught on a fraud charge and was facing deportation when he began working as an informant for the FBI.

The film shows how Maqsood approached each of the men, claiming to represent Pakistani militants who were interested in staging an attack in the United States. Over time, Maqsood provided money, transportation, and even bomb-making materials to the men, who were all struggling financially at the time. The FBI set up a sting operation, complete with hidden cameras and wiretaps, and ultimately arrested the men in May 2009.

The filmmakers do an excellent job of uncovering the political and social context of the case, showing how the men were targeted because of their race, religion, and vulnerability. We see how the FBI has increasingly relied on informants and sting operations to build terrorism cases in the post-9/11 era, and how this approach has raised ethical and moral questions about whether the FBI should be creating criminals instead of stopping them.

The film also delves into the legal proceedings that followed the arrests, including the men's trials and appeals. The men's defense attorneys argue that the FBI entrapped them into committing a crime they were not capable of carrying out on their own, and that the evidence against them was largely based on the actions and statements of Maqsood, who was himself motivated by financial gain and the promise of citizenship. The prosecutors, however, argue that the men had expressed a desire to commit a terrorist act, and that they posed a danger to the community that had to be stopped.

Throughout the film, we see how the men's families and communities were affected by the arrests, and how the case sparked a larger conversation about the post-9/11 surveillance state and the role of law enforcement in targeting vulnerable populations. The film raises important questions about race, religion, power, and justice in America, and it offers a sobering reminder of the costs of the War on Terror.

Overall, "The Newburgh Sting" is a well-crafted and thought-provoking documentary that sheds light on an important and controversial case in recent American history. It challenges viewers to think critically about the ways in which our government has responded to the threat of terrorism, and the ways in which our communities have been impacted by these responses. It is a must-watch for anyone interested in civil liberties, human rights, and the intersection of race and power in America.