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INITIATIVE
Domestic Terrorism Post-9/11 (2001-2011)
During the ten years following September 11th, 2001 there were over 100 incidents of "home-grown" or domestic terrorism in the United States. To provide a valuable resource on this topic, the Crime Commission has compiled an extensive database of incidents including attacks, plots, support for, membership in, or connections with a terrorist organization. While information about terrorist incidents are available elsewhere, both on and off the Internet, the Crime Commission's database is unique in providing a centralized, concise, user-friendly, and visually engaging informational resource on domestic terrorism. read more »
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February 2005
Saudi Arabia
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali
Support: Personnel
Al Qaeda
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Virginia resident conspires to assassinate President Bush
Virginia resident Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, a U.S. citizen, was indicted in February 2005 for conspiring with Al Qaeda operatives in Saudi Arabia to assassinate President Bush.
According to the indictment, Abu Ali trained in the use of hand grenades, weapons, explosives and document forgery with Al Qaeda associates, bought them supplies and attempted to travel to Afghanistan. Prosecutors said he also conspired to hijack planes.
Saudi officials detained Abu Ali for 20 months before returning him to the United States in February 2005, when the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia indicted him for providing material support to a terrorist organization and conspiring to commit terrorist acts. In a videotaped confession to Saudi authorities, Abu Ali claimed to hate the U.S. for its support of Israel. The family of Abu Ali said he was in Saudi Arabia only to pursue religious studies and was unlawfully detained by the Saudis and tortured until he confessed.
Abu Ali was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on November 22, 2005, and on March 29, 2006, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
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May 20, 2005
Houston, TX
Ronald Allen Grecula
Support: Material
Al Qaeda,
Anti-Government
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U.S. citizen attempts to build a bomb and sell it to an Al Qaeda operative
U.S. citizen Ronald Allen Grecula claimed he could create a bomb for Al Qaeda, or anyone willing to pay, that would leave a crater 20-feet wide. The FBI arrested him on May 20, 2005, in Houston, TX, after Grecula met with two undercover FBI agents posing as Al Qaeda operatives.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas indicted Grecula on June 16, 2005, for providing material support to a terrorist organization. He pleaded guilty on September 21, 2006, and was sentenced to five years in prison on February 9, 2007.
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May 29, 2005
New York & Florida
Mahmud Faruq Brent,
Abdulrahman Farhane,
Rafiq Sabir,
Tarik Shah
Support: Training
Al Qaeda,
Lashkar-e-Taiba
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New York men conspire to support terrorists
Authorities arrested two U.S. citizens, Rafiq Sabir, a doctor in Florida, and Tarik Shah, a jazz musician and martial arts expert in New York, on May 29, 2005, for conspiring to provide medical aid to Al Qaeda terrorists overseas and provide weapons training in New York for prospective militants.
During a two-year long sting operation involving meetings with an informant and an undercover FBI agent, authorities videotaped both men swearing allegiance to Osama bin Laden and planning to provide aid to Al Qaeda operatives. Shah told the agent that in 1998 he and Sabir attempted to attend terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and that their services were a "package deal." On August 4, 2005, authorities arrested Mahmud Faruq Brent, also known as Mahmud al Mutazzim, a U.S. citizen. Shah had trained Brent in martial arts and they discussed making a training video for other would-be militants. After Shah's arrest, FBI agents arranged for him to call Brent and set up a meeting, where Brent described his time at a training camp for Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is loosely affiliated with Al Qaeda.
Shah and Sabir were indicted on June 27, 2005, by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Authorities added Brent to the indictment on November 7, 2005. The three men initially pleaded not guilty. Officials added a fourth defendant, Abdulrahman Farhane, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Morocco, on February 8, 2006, for meeting with the informant, Mohamed Alanssi, and Shah to discuss ways to send money overseas to finance jihadists. Farhane had introduced the informant to Shah, which led to the initial arrests in May 2005. He pleaded guilty on November 9, 2006. Brent and Shah changed their pleas to guilty in April 2007 in exchange for a reduced maximum sentence. On April 16, 2007, the court sentenced Farhane to 13 years in prison. Brent and Shah received sentences of 15 years in prison, on July 25 and November 7, 2007. Sabir refused a plea deal; the court convicted him on May 21 and on November 28, 2007, the court sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
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June 7, 2005
Lodi, CA
Hamid Hayat
Support: Personnel
Al Qaeda
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Man arrested for attending a Pakistani terrorist camp
Hamid Hayat, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan, was arrested by the FBI on June 7, 2005, on charges that he attended a Pakistani terrorist training camp affiliated with Al Qaeda between October 2003 and November 2004.
Significant portions of the investigation were based on testimony by FBI informant Naseem Khan, who was paid $200,000 as part of a larger investigation of terrorist activity and financing in Lodi, CA. While authorities uncovered no specific plot by Hayat, they claimed his arrest was a preventative measure.
A federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California convicted Hamid Hayat of providing material support to terrorists and lying to the FBI on April 25, 2006. On September 10, 2007, the court sentenced Hamid Hayat to 24 years in prison.
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August 31, 2005
Los Angeles, CA
Kevin James,
Gregory Patterson,
Hammad Riaz Samana,
Levar Washington
Plot: Bomb
Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh
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Radical Islamic prison gang plots bombings in Los Angeles
A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California indicted a group of four men on August 31, 2005, on charges including conspiracy to commit war against the U.S. government and conspiracy to kill service members.
Kevin James, a U.S. citizen, founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, an Islamic prison gang at California State Prison-Sacramento (also known as New Folsom Prison) seeking a "jihad against the United States." When follower Levar Washington, a U.S. citizen, received parole, James ordered him to obtain guns and explosives and enlist recruits without criminal records. Washington recruited Gregory Patterson, a U.S. citizen, and Hammad Riaz Samana, a legal U.S. resident from Pakistan. The three began a series of robberies to finance their efforts, keeping James informed throughout. The men had already bought weapons for the attacks when officials arrested Patterson and Washington on July 5, 2005, based on unrelated robbery charges, only discovering plans to attack targets including military facilities, synagogues and the Israeli consulate, when they searched Washington's home.
On December 14, 2007, James and Washington pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The court sentenced Washington to 22 years in prison on June 23, 2008, while ringleader James received 15 years on March 6, 2009. Patterson pleaded guilty on December 17, 2007, and was sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in prison on July 21, 2008. Samana was initially found mentally unfit to stand trial. After receiving psychiatric care in a federal prison he was declared competent and on August 17, 2009, sentenced to five years and ten months in prison.
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December 5, 2005
Wyoming
Michael Reynolds
Plot: Bomb
Al Qaeda
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Al Qaeda sympathizer attempts to blow up oil pipelines and refineries in the U.S.
Michael Reynolds, a U.S. citizen, was arrested on December 5, 2005, after offering to help Al Qaeda blow up oil pipelines and refineries in exchange for money in an online discussion.
By destroying energy resources, Reynolds hoped to damage the national economy and lead to "instant rebellion" by Americans. The FBI arrested Reynolds when he tried to retrieve $40,000 in funds he believed to be payment from Al Qaeda. Reynolds was unaware that his supposed Al Qaeda contact was actually a Montana judge posing as an extremist. According to authorities, Reynolds' first intended target was a natural gas refinery in western Wyoming, which he planned to blow up on December 24, 2005.
Authorities held Reynolds in a Pennsylvania jail on the unrelated charge of hand grenade possession until a federal grand jury officially indicted him for attempting to provide support to terrorists on October 3, 2006. Nine months later, on July 13, 2007, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania convicted Reynolds of planning to blow up U.S. oil resources and attempting to enlist Al Qaeda's assistance. The jury imposed the maximum sentence of 57 years and 6 months in prison.
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