Violent threats from Virginia to Texas disrupt Muslim groups raising support for Palestinians

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A national Muslim civil rights group is moving its annual banquet out of a Virginia hotel it says received bomb and death threats. The Council on American-Islamic Relations says it will relocate its annual banquet Saturday from the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington. CAIR says the hotel reported anonymous callers have threatened to plant bombs in the hotel’s parking garage and kill hotel staff. CAIR says the threats came after it updated its banquet programming to focus on Palestinians. A similar cancellation occurred in Texas, where a Hilton hotel in Houston dropped a conference scheduled for next weekend by the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.