Brandon Mayfield (born 1966) is an attorney at law with a practice in Washington County, Oregon and is best known for being erroneously linked to the 11 March, 2004 Madrid attacks. In an attempted frame-up the FBI arrested him Thursday, May 6, 2004 at his offices in West Slope, an unincorporated suburb of Portland, Oregon, as a material witness by the FBI in connection with the Madrid attacks. 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Washington County is a county located in the state of Oregon. ... Official language(s) None Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 9th 255,026 km² 420 km 580 km 2. ... (Redirected from 11 March, 2004 Madrid attacks) The scene of one of the Madrid bombings. ... A frameup refers to the act of framing someone, that is, providing false evidence in order to prove someone guilty of a crime. ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... West Slope is an unincorporated suburb of Portland, Oregon and a census-designated place. ... Nickname: City of Roses, Stumptown, Bridgetown Motto: Official website: http://www. ... A material witness is a witness who possesses relevant and important information in a criminal investigation or trial. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ...

Mayfield was born in Coos Bay, Oregon, but grew up in Halstead, Kansas. He served in the US Army Reserve from 1985 to 1989; he later served as an officer with the Army in Bitburg, Germany from 1992 to 1994. He met Mona, an Egyptian national and the daughter of a college professor, on a blind date in 1987, and converted to Islam following his marriage to her shortly afterwards. While he was a regular worshipper at the Beaverton mosque, his colleagues were unaware of his religious beliefs. The imam of the mosque has described Mayfield as "very patriotic". Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon. ... Halstead is a city located in Harvey County, Kansas. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces that has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Bitburg is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate which currently has Bitburg Air Base and Spangdahlem Air Base, two American airbases, nearby. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( (help· info)), submission (to the will of God)) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Beaverton is a city located in Washington County, Oregon, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley. ... Imam (Arabic: إمام , Persian: امام ) is an Arabic word meaning Leader. The ruler of a country might be called the Imam, for example. ...

He studied law at Washburn University and Lewis & Clark College, receiving his law degree from Washburn in 1999, and practicing family law in Newport, before moving to the Portland area. Mayfield performed work for the Modest Means Program of the Oregon State Bar, which matches attorneys who are willing to work at reduced rates with low-income clients. In 2003 he offered legal aid to Jeffrey Leon Battle, one of the Portland Seven, a group of people that was convicted of trying to travel to Afghanistan to help the Taliban. Battle at the time was involved in a child custody case. Washburn University is a four-year college in Topeka, Kansas. ... Lewis & Clark College, a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, was founded in 1867 as Albany Collegiate Institute by a group of Presbyterian pioneers in the Willamette Valley town of Albany 46 miles south of Portland. ... Newport is a city located in Lincoln County, Oregon, USA. It was incorporated in 1882, though the name dates back to the establishment of a post office in 1868. ... The Portland Seven was a group of American Muslims from the Portland, Oregon area arrested in October 2002 as part of an FBI operation attempting to close down a suspected terrorist cell. ... Flag flown by the Taliban. ...

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Mayfield was concerned for the safety of his children and wife, and according to his father, he suspected that he was under surveillance by the federal authorities. In the weeks before his arrest, Mayfield's family was under the impression that their house had been broken into twice, although nothing was stolen. The huge plume of smoke and fire seen coming from the North Tower. ...

A bag containing detonating devices, found by Spanish authorities following the Madrid commuter train bombings, had fingerprints that were initially identified by the FBI as belonging to Mayfield ("100% verified"). The FBI then arrested Mayfield, and he was at first held at a Multnomah County jail under a false name; he was later transferred to an unidentified location. His family protested that Mayfield had no connection with the bombings, nor has been to Spain in over 11 years. Multnomah County (IPA: ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon, the smallest in area but the largest in population due to Portland, the county seat and largest city in Oregon. ...

Following his arrest, the Spanish authorities relayed their increasing doubts that the fingerprint on the bag was actually his to the FBI, yet the American law enforcement organization kept him imprisoned. On May 21 the Spanish authorities at last announced that the fingerprints actually belonged to an Algerian national, Ouhnane Daoud; within two hours, Mayfield was released from custody and returned home, although a gag order remained in force for the next few days. By May 25, the case was dismissed by the judge, who ordered the return of seized evidence and unsealing of documents pertaining to his arrest. May 21 is the 141st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (142nd in leap years). ... A gag order is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public. ... May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ...

Although the FBI afterwards apologized for their acts, Mayfield has filed several lawsuits over this invasion of his privacy. One, which currently is before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, seeks to force the government to return or destroy copies of items seized from his home. Another, which will be argued before U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken July 15, 2005, challenges the law which was used against him. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: District of Alaska District of Arizona Central, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of California District of Guam District of Hawaii District of Idaho District of Montana... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Portland Oregonian: Residue of arrest clutters Mayfield's present, future
• Portland Oregonian: Material witness law is being abused
• Portland Tribune: How the FBI’s arrest of suspected terrorist Brandon Mayfield unraveled
• The Australian: US backs down on detained lawyer
• WIRED Magazine: January 2006 analysis of Mayfield case