DALLAS – Authorities are investigating reports of a suspicious U-Haul truck at the Earle Cabell Federal Building in Dallas where opening statements are scheduled in a case against alleged Hamas fundraisers.
Prosecutors are set to spell out their case today against leaders of a Muslim charity that federal officials say funneled millions of dollars to the Middle Eastern militant group Hamas.
The trial in federal district court in Dallas caps an investigation into the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development that lasted more than a decade and spanned half the world.
Defense attorneys say Holy Land supported humanitarian efforts in Palestinian neighborhoods but didn't knowingly aid Hamas.
The five men on trial aren't accused of being terrorists.
Rather, they are charged with illegally giving money to Hamas after it was designated a terrorist group in 1995. Authorities say some of the money went to support the families of suicide bombers.
The trial is expected to last several months.
Holy Land was once the largest Muslim charity in the United States.
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