He went from claims of victimhood to jihad; usually the trajectory is jihad first, then claims of victimhood. Will this revelation lead to claims that the “Islamophobia” of the Elizabeth, New Jersey police department led him to become “radicalized” and take up jihad?

“EXCLUSIVE: Wanted New York and New Jersey bomb suspect sued his local police claiming they PERSECUTED him for being a Muslim,” by Daniel Bates and Louise Boyle, Dailymail.com, September 19, 2016:

The prime suspect in the New York and New Jersey bombings sued his local police force and claimed they were persecuting him for being a Muslim.

Ahmad Rahami said in a lawsuit that cops in Elizabeth, New Jersey subjected his and his family to discrimination and ‘selective enforcement’ based on their religion.

The family – who used the name Rahimi in the legal papers – claimed that police tried to shut down their chicken restaurant, called First American, too early each night with ‘baseless’ tickets and summonses.

Ahmad, 28, his father Mohammad Sr, 53, and his brother Mohammad, brought the lawsuit together and said that local residents also racially abused them and said: ‘Muslims don’t belong here’….

The lawsuit, filed in the federal court in Newark, says that the family are from Afghanistan and are all Muslims who have owned the chicken restaurant since 2002.

From April 2009 for two years they allege that they were unfairly targeted for staying open past 10pm despite being permitted to do so.

The lawsuit says that the police had a ‘reckless disregard and deliberate indifference for plaintiff’s constitutional rights of liberty, due process and equal protection’.

The Elizabeth police department allegedly ’embarked on a course to harass, humiliate, retaliate against and force their business to close at 10pm’….

The Rahamis alleged they were being subject to ‘selective enforcement’ that were ‘solely based on an animus against plaintiff’s religion, creed, race and national origin’.

The family claim that as a result of the police shutting them down at 10pm, despite other businesses being allowed to stay open at that time, they suffered economic hardship….

The 11 count lawsuit names the City of Elizabeth, the Elizabeth Police Department, six Elizabeth police officers, chief of police Ronald Simon and police director James Cosgrove.

They say the harassment was ‘baseless and without probable cause’ and breached the family’s Constitutional rights.

The Rahamis claim that it also claim it was ‘discrimination’, ‘false arrest’ and ‘abuse of process’ that left them suffering distress, embarrassment and damage to their reputation.

Court records show that the complaint was dismissed with prejudice in 2012, meaning that it could not be brought again.

It is not clear if there was a settlement.