A federal judge has denied the government’s request to detain two men accused of posing as federal Homeland Security agents, tricking actual U.S. Secret Service officers and offering them free gifts and apartments at a luxury apartment building in Washington.
Federal prosecutors have argued the two men -- Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, -- had posed as fake agents and offering the gifts in an effort to “ingratiate” themselves and integrate with law enforcement agents, including a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the first lady.
