--- title: Election 2016: American Muslims Interviewed by FBI description: In wake of reports of potential terror attack on Monday; at least three states were reportedly targeted canonical: https://time.com/4560441/american-muslims-fbi-election-day/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-07T14:16:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:21.369Z article:section: Politics og:title: American Muslims Report Being Questioned by FBI Ahead of Election Day og:description: In the wake of reports of a potential terrorist attack on Monday og:url: https://time.com/4560441/american-muslims-fbi-election-day/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39380782286d5a40/6988ad46428a9e292fcd4e7c/gettyimages-175796149.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Headquarters Of The Federal Bureau Of Investigation og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: American Muslims Report Being Questioned by FBI Ahead of Election Day twitter:description: In the wake of reports of a potential terrorist attack on Monday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39380782286d5a40/6988ad46428a9e292fcd4e7c/gettyimages-175796149.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # American Muslims Report Being Questioned by FBI Ahead of Election Day > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 7, 2016 2:16 PM UTC  The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seen at the J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013\. Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seen at the J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013\. Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 7, 2016 2:16 PM UTC American Muslims were [questioned by federal authorities](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/11/07/fbi-questioned-american-muslims-in-8-states-about-possible-pre-election-terror-says-civil-rights-group/) in several states ahead of Election Day, a civil rights organization reports, as authorities reportedly received warnings of a potential terrorist attack. The [Council on American-Islamic Relations](https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational/posts/10154220085922695) issued a community alert on Sunday, urging those who have been questioned to be aware of the constitutional rights. “CAIR is urging anyone contacted by a law enforcement agency to consult advice offered in its ‘Know Your Rights and Responsibilities an American Muslim’ pocket guide, which includes a section called ‘Know Your Rights If Law Enforcement Contacts You,'” the advocacy organization wrote on its [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational/posts/10154220085922695). In Oklahoma, Adam Soltani wrote on Facebook that he’d received four reports of the FBI “harassing” Muslims in the state on Saturday. “Please folks, if you missed my alert earlier, please spread the word,” Soltani wrote. “You DO NOT have to talk to the FBI without an attorney present. CAIR Oklahoma will represent you free of charge.” The post came on the heels of several reports that Muslims had been questioned by the FBI in states including Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, California, Washington and Michigan, according to the [Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/11/07/fbi-questioned-american-muslims-in-8-states-about-possible-pre-election-terror-says-civil-rights-group/). The Dallas [_Morning News_](http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2016/11/06/fbi-interviewingmuslims-texas-alleged-al-qaeda-terrorthreat-community-leader-says) reports officials received warning that al-Qaeda may target Texas ahead of Election Day. The North Texas branch of CAIR told the [_Morning News_](http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2016/11/06/fbi-interviewingmuslims-texas-alleged-al-qaeda-terrorthreat-community-leader-says) that at least three interviews with Muslim Americans took place over the weekend and there were reports that five additional interviews had also occurred. [_CBS News_](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sources-us-intel-warning-of-possible-al-qaeda-attacks-in-us-monday/) reported Friday that New York, Texas and Virginia are all potential targets of an attack on Monday and U.S. authorities were taking the threat seriously. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4560441/american-muslims-fbi-election-day/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4560441/american-muslims-fbi-election-day/"},"headline":"American Muslims Report Being Questioned by FBI Ahead of Election Day","datePublished":"2016-11-07T14:16:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:45:21.369Z","description":"In the wake of reports of a potential terrorist attack on Monday","url":"https://time.com/4560441/american-muslims-fbi-election-day/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election","U.S.","Terrorism"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39380782286d5a40/6988ad46428a9e292fcd4e7c/gettyimages-175796149.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39380782286d5a40/6988ad46428a9e292fcd4e7c/gettyimages-175796149.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Headquarters Of The Federal Bureau Of Investigation","caption":"Headquarters Of The Federal Bureau Of Investigation","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4560441/american-muslims-fbi-election-day/","name":"American Muslims Report Being Questioned by FBI Ahead of Election Day"}}]}] ```