US Atty Gen Holder on Guantanamo: We won’t release terrorists into US

Holder: Terrorists won’t be set free

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder says the United States will not release anyone considered a terrorist into the country.

Holder was testifying Thursday at a Senate hearing. He faced questions from lawmakers about his plans for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center by January 2010.

The attorney general has told Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., that anyone believed to be a terrorist would not be set free. But he also said some of the Guantanamo Bay detainees will be released, indicating the Obama administration believes some of those held there are not terrorists.

Holder assured Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., that he would notify local officials if the government decides to release some detainees into the U.S.