The head of an Arab-American group is condemning a federal prosecutor who said one of eight men accused of illegal pro-Libyan activities was involved in a plot to assassinate a high-level U.S. official. An administration source later identified the target as former National Security Council aide Oliver L. North. The comments by U.S. Attorney Henry Hudson about an assassination plot are ``outrageous ... unsubstantiated allegations which are not even part of the charges in this case,'' Abdeen Jabara, president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said Thursday. Hudson made the comments Wednesday in Alexandria, Va., in a court appearance by six men charged with violating the U.S. economic boycott of Libya. The men allegedly used money sent from Libya to support pro-Libya demonstrations in the United States and to finance travel to Libya by American minorities. The boycott allows such money to be used only for the educational expenses of Libyan students in the United States. Two other men were charged in the same case, in Denver and Ann Arbor, Mich. During the Alexandria court appearance, Hudson said one of those charged, Mousa Hawamda, ``was involved in a potential plot to assassinate a high government official of the United States.'' An administration source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, identified the target as North, who as a National Security Council aide masterminded counterterrorism activities against Libya, including the April 1986 bombing of Tripoli. One of Hawamda's attorneys, Russell Gaspar, said in an interview that ``we deny on behalf of Hawamda involvement in any sort of assassination plot.'' He said he and Hawamda's other attorney, Ray Hanna, would seek to have their client released. All six were detained without bond. Jabara also said his office has received a recent rash of calls from Arab-Americans across the nation who have been harassed by the FBI with unannounced visits to them and their neighbors that were intended to gather information about political views and activities as opposed to criminal activities. Sue Schnitzer, an FBI spokeswoman, had no comment on Jabara's remarks. She said information about political views and activities might be sought in investigations involving, for example, foreign counterintelligence or terrorism. But she denied that the bureau would conduct an investigation that was politically motivated.
