September 11, 2001 Research & Archives

Zainelabdeen Ibrahim Omer, a Sudanese man, tells police in Sarasota, Florida, he is concerned that a friend of his may pose a threat to President Bush, who is spending the night on nearby Longboat Key and is due to visit Sarasota today. After he contacts the Sarasota police, Omer is visited by some officers. He tells them that on the previous evening he talked to a friend of his, who he identifies only as "Gandi." He says Gandi is in Sarasota with two companions, with the intention of getting a friend of theirs out of jail. Omer is apparently concerned that Gandi may be a danger to Bush while he is visiting the area. He says Gandi "has made several remarks in the past that indicated extremely violent thoughts." He adds that, considering the man's "past inclinations," the fact that Gandi is in Sarasota at the time Bush is visiting the area "might not be coincidental." The Sarasota police officers will contact the Secret Service, whose agents then question Omer about his concerns. Police officers and Secret Service agents will visit an address on 32nd Street in Sarasota, where they find 11 Arab men apparently at morning prayer. One of the men has a card for the Longboat Key Club, which is near the resort where Bush has been spending the night (see September 10, 2001).

The men will be questioned, held until Bush has left the area, and then released. It will later be reported that Gandi has links to the guerrilla group, the Sudan People's Liberation Army. However, an unnamed law enforcement source will tell authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan that there is "nothing to indicate" the 11 Arab men questioned by the police and the Secret Service are linked to the 9/11 plotters. (Sarasota Police Department 9/11/2001; Sarasota Police Department 9/11/2001; Summers and Swan 2011, pp. 457)

While Bush is staying on Longboat Key, several Middle Eastern men reportedly arrive at the resort where he is staying and falsely claim they have an interview with him arranged (see (Before 6:00 a.m.) September 11, 2001).

And at 8:50 a.m. on September 11, a local man will see a van in Sarasota with two Middle Eastern men screaming out the windows, "Down with Bush" (see (8:50 a.m.) September 11, 2001). (Sullivan 9/26/2001)