In a press release, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced that the Department of Justice, FBI and the Washington Metropolitan Police Department all contributed to the arrest of Max L. Oakley, who "allegedly sent e-mailed threats claiming that he would bomb CAIR's Washington, D.C., office and American mosques unless the civil rights and advocacy group made a public announcement that it was ceasing operations."

A CAIR spokesman noted, "This arrest will send a clear message to Islamophobic bigots that intimidation of American Muslims and threats against their institutions will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted vigorously."