NEW YORK — In response to media reports that a suspected al Qaeda operative, Ali Charaf Damache, is the first foreign terrorism suspect to appear in federal court under President Trump, David Cole, American Civil Liberties Union national legal director, had the following reaction:



“We welcome and support this announcement. Prosecuting terrorism cases in federal courts is the right thing to do. We have long argued that our courts can handle terrorism cases, and they have a record of doing just that. The alternatives of indefinite detention at Guantánamo, and flawed military commissions violate basic constitutional and human rights, and have created far more problems than they’ve solved. We hope that federal court prosecution of terrorism suspects proves to be not the exception, but the rule.”