John Guandolo's anti-Muslim training seminars have found a receptive audience with Arizona law enforcement.
Next week, Guandolo will be making his third appearance in the Valley in the last five months to present his seminar, "Understanding and Investigating the Jihadi Threat." His point: Mosques in the U.S. are breeding grounds for terrorists.
During Guandolo's three-day course for Arizona cops, he'll reveal what he claims is the "Islamic Movement's" threat to the Valley, and name local organizations and leaders he claims are tied to the terrorist group Hamas.
In a phone interview Monday evening, I asked Guandolo for specific evidence that Hamas supporters -- "jihadis wearing suits," in his words -- were running Valley mosques.
"I write two articles a week. We do DVDs, we put out books," he said of his "Understanding the Threat" operation. "Read them and tell us where we're wrong. I'm not going to explain, walk through it for you, where we're right."
The Council on American Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group, has called on the Arizona Police Association, sponsor of next week's event, to cancel it.
"John Guandolo is somebody who is not only a conspiracy theorist," said Imraan Siddiqi, executive director CAIR's Arizona chapter.
"He is somebody who is engaged in defamation, at this point."
Guandolo is a disgraced former FBI agent who has fashioned a nationwide speaking career based on a program that purports to expose Muslim terrorists in our midst.
His audiences are largely tea party and religious groups, as well as law-enforcement organizations that support right-wing elected officials.
The Arizona Police Association is a longtime supporter of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
"There's little excuse or justification for making broad claims about a religion as large, complex and intricate as Islam," said Daniel Rothenberg, co-director of the Center for the Future of War at Arizona State University.
"It seems like dangerous talk if you don't have any justification for the claim."
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery spent $40,000 on a Guandolo course three years ago. Montgomery vigorously defended Guandolo in the face of opposition from community groups. The Phoenix Police Department advised its officers not to attend.
Full disclosure: Three years ago, Guandolo labeled me a "collaborator" with terrorists after my reports on that visit.
The course next week, "Understanding and Investigating the Jihadi Threat," will be May 16 through 18 at the Mesa Police Academy. A Mesa police spokesman said the department was not paying for the training class.
It appears to be paid for by the Arizona Police Association.
APA executive director Levi Bolton fired back at a national CAIR executive after he demanded that Bolton cancel the course.
Bolton emailed:
"We would like to explore your accusations during a full, complete sworn deposition here in Arizona. Please voluntarily report to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office ... where law enforcement will conduct a complete and thorough interview."
Bolton did not respond to several requests for comment for this story.
"This can affect how Muslims are policed in the state of Arizona," Siddiqi said.
ASU's Rothenberg had this advice for evaluating Guandolo's statements:
"I don't think there's anything terrible for listening to folks who present complex and harmful ideas. It's one of the better sides of our society that we allow all kinds of voices to speak openly. It would be useful if people who find these ideas compelling would take a step back and replace the word 'Muslim' or replace the term 'Islam' with some other large category that encompasses all sorts of diverse people, and see if the same sort of claims that are very general hold."