James Ujaama, the man prosecutors allege tried to set up an Al Qaeda training camp in Bly, Oregon was denied bail today at a hearing in Seattle.

Ujaama has a lot of family support in both Denver and Seattle. His mother and aunt offered to put up their homes for bail but the Court refused, saying it wouldn't assure he wouldn't flee the country before his trial. Ujaama previously worked as an anti-drug crusader and community activist in Seattle, a fact the Judge today acknowledged before stating, "He was a fine citizen over those years but people change.''

Ujaama was arrested in Denver on July 22 on a material witness warrant. He was transferred to Virginia around July 29 and held there until an Indictment for providing material resources to a terrorist organization was returned against him in Seattle. He was then moved to Seattle.

Ujaama was born in Denver as James Thompson. He moved with his family to Seattle when he was 5. His aunt was formerly married to Mayor Wellington Webb's son. The Mayor was unhappy when the Rocky Mountain News printed the connection. But News publisher John Temple thought it was relevant reporting because "the raid occurred in a home now maintained by the ex-wife of the mayor's son, Allen Sr." and because the mayor's 15 year old granddaughter Jamie, cousin to James Ujaama, was in the house at the time police surrounded it to make the arrest. The neighbors reported that Jamie ran out of the house hysterical, claiming that the police had put a gun to her head, which the police have denied. (Rocky Mountain News, July 27)

Before his Indictment, The Rocky Mountain News reported that Ujaama's Denver lawyer confirmed the feds had been considering providing him with immunity at one point. It isn't known why they changed their minds and decided to prosecute him instead.