Ahmad Khan Rahami: NY and NJ bombing suspect sued police after alleging he was persecuted for being Muslim

The suspect behind the bombings in New York and New Jersey has been shot by police in Linden, New Jersey, and has been taken to hospital

(Getty )

Bombing suspect Ahmad Rahami sued police in 2011 for subjecting him and his family to discrimination and “selective enforcement”, according to court documents.

Rahami, who was detained by police on Monday morning after a shoot-out in New Jersey, and who is the suspect behind two bombs in Manhattan and New Jersey this weekend, reportedly claimed that police tried to shut down the family's chicken restaurant too early, while letting other similar restaurants in the area remain open, "harassing" and "intimidating" them over a period of several years.

While the motive for the bombings remain unclear, the court documents have shone light on the suspect's potential feelings of disenfranchisement in New Jersey.

The 28-year-old, who is being sought for questioning by FBI agents and the police, brought the lawsuit along with his father, 53-year-old Mohammad Sr, and his brother, Mohammad.

The family claimed in the court documents that they suffered racial abuse from residents in Elizabeth, New Jersey, who said that “Muslims don’t belong here”.

In the lawsuit, the Rahami family claimed “discrimination”, “false arrest” and “abuse of protest”.

The case was filed in Newark. The family from Afghanistan and became naturalised US citizens, opening the First American Fried Chicken restaurant in 2002.


 A surveillance image showing naturalized US citizen, 28-year-old New Jersey resident Ahmad Khan Rahami 
 (EPA)

They problems with police allegedly began in 2008, when they started to receive summons and tickets about their failure to close at 10pm each night.

The plaintiffs claimed that they suffered "false and baseless complaints" against them and their business from unidentified people between 2009 and 2011.

Despite a municipal prosecutor proving the restaurant fitted an exemption to the ordinance in 2008, they alleged that the defendants, including several named police officers, sought on several occasions in 2009 to "harass, humiliate, intimidate, retalisate against and force" the family to close by 10pm.

"The tickets, summons and complaints were all baseless, unfounded, and designed solely to intimidate and harass plaintiffs," the document read.

One officer came to the premises and allegedly said he "did not believe" the court documents, and insisted the restaurant should be closed. The officer and his colleagues allegedly continued to issue tickets and summonses even after the plaintiffs closed the business at 10pm.

Another officer allegedly told them that "Muslims should not have businesses here" and are contributing to a "high crime area".

After an incident on 15 June 2009 when four officers came again to the premises and the family tried to record the conversation with a handheld device, the bombing suspect, Rahami, and his father were arrested. His father was not charged while the suspect was charged with disorderly conduct and preventing the police from lawfully performing an official function.

The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice in 2012, meaning it cannot be brought forward again.

It was not clear if a settlement was reached.