By: Nicholas Sohr

As federal officials scout sites to hold high-profile trials of suspected terrorists, top Republican state senators delivered a preemptive strike of their own Thursday.

They wrote to Gov. Martin O’Malley, urging him to do what he can to remove Maryland from the list of possible sites.

“These terrorist trials will certainly jeopardize homeland security and could unnecessarily endanger the lives of Americans,” wrote Sens. Allan H. Kittleman and Nancy Jacobs. “The federal court where the trials will be held will most certainly become a target for a new terrorist attack.”

Federal officials are looking for a place to hold the trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks. Kittleman, the minority leader, and Jacobs, the minority whip, expressed concern over the proximity of federal courthouses in Greenbelt and Baltimore to population centers and government facilities.