After judge drops charges on NM Muslim compound suspects, the FBI makes its move

The FBI announced that the bureau had arrested 5 suspects in the bizarre case surrounding the raid of a compound in New Mexico.

Here's what happened

On Wednesday, a judge in the case said that all charges of child abuse had to be dropped against the suspects, two Muslim men and three Muslim women, after prosecutors failed to follow a technicality imposed by the state supreme court.

Three of the suspects were released that day, while the remaining two were charged with child neglect leading to the death of a child. The remains of a three-year-old had been discovered in one of the tunnels beneath the compound. He was the son of one of the suspects.

Two days later on Friday, the FBI arrested the 5 suspects on weapons charges.

On the same day, prosecutors dropped the two charges of child neglect leading to death, and said they would pursue grand jury indictments instead.

“Going to a grand jury allows us to get that information and vet it and not be under the 10-day window, which is quite burdensome,” said Taos County District Attorney Donald Gallegos. He referred to the rule that prosecutors had failed to meet, forcing a judge to dismiss charges.

He told the Associated Press that one of the residents, Jany Leveille, who is also an illegal alien from Haiti, was charged with being an alien unlawfully in possession of firearms and ammunition. The other suspects were charged with conspiracy with Leveille.

Law enforcement officials said that they discovered various weapons and ammunition at the compound, and that eleven malnourished children were living in squalor there. They allege that the children told them they were being trained to attack various institutions that their captors said had become corrupt.

All five suspects will remain in custody until a trial Tuesday.

Here's a news video about the newest developments in the strange case: