Three African refugees have pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from what police described as a fake bomb found at Phoenix's airport as new details emerged about the case and those who are charged.
Luwiza Daman, Shullu Gorado, and Asa Shani pleaded not guilty in federal court in downtown Phoenix on Friday to a felony charge of causing what appeared to be an explosive device to go through a security checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Daman, Gorado and Shani all come from Eritrea, a war-torn country on the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa. Only Gorado speaks some English, while Daman and Shani speak an African dialect and are relying a translator to understand court proceedings.
Authorities say Daman was carrying the suspicious item in her bag on Aug. 5 as she went through security at the airport intending to board a plane to Des Moines, Iowa. Police say Gorado and Shani gave it to her, and described the three as acquaintances.
An FBI investigator and Phoenix police described as a type of paste-like food inside a container, which had a cell phone taped to it. They said the item had the appearance of a bomb and could have been put through airport security to test its vulnerabilities.
