Hatred at Home: al-Qaida on Trial in the American Midwest

One day in 2002, three friends— a Somali immigrant, a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen, and a hometown African American—met in a Columbus, Ohio, coffee shop and vented over civilian casualties in the war in Afghanistan. Their conversation triggered an investigation that would become one of the most unusual and far-reaching government probes into terrorism since the 9/11 attacks. 

Over several years, prosecutors charged each man with unrelated terrorist activities in cases that embodied the Bush administration’s approach to fighting terrorism at home. 

Government lawyers spoke of catastrophes averted; defense attorneys countered that none of the three had done anything but talk. The stories of these homegrown terrorists illustrate the paradox the government faced after September 11: how to fairly wage a war against alleged enemies living in our midst. 

Hatred at Home is a true crime drama that will spark debate from all political corners about safety, civil liberties, free speech, and the government’s war at home.