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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 18, 2009
Minnesota
Kamal Said Hassan
Support: Personnel
Al Shabaab
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U.S. citizen aids terrorist organization, trains with Al Shabaab
Kamal Said Hassan, a U.S. citizen from Plymouth, MN, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of providing material support to terrorists and one count of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization on February 18, 2009.
Hassan had previously traveled to Somalia to train with Al Shabaab. Afterwards, he continued to work with the group before returning to the United States.
Hassan later pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the FBI on August 12, 2009. Hassan continues to await sentencing by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
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May 20, 2009
Bronx, NY
James Cromitie,
Laguerre Payen,
David Williams,
Onta Williams
Plot: Bomb
None Confirmed
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Plot to bomb Bronx, NY synagogues
Four New York men were arrested on May 20, 2009, after they placed what they believed were bombs outside two synagogues in the Bronx: the Riverdale Temple and the nearby Riverdale Jewish Center. Onta Williams, Laguerre Payen, James Cromitie and David Williams IV (all U.S. citizens except for Payen, who is a legal U.S. resident from Haiti) also planned to shoot down military planes using a missile. All four are reportedly Muslim converts who found a radicalized form of religion while in prison for previous crimes.
Authorities began monitoring the men in 2008. Shortly afterward, the men came in contact with a government informant at a mosque in Newburgh, NY. The informant told the men he was a member of a terrorist organization, helped to facilitate the plot, and provided them with fake bombs and a disabled missile.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found all four guilty of attempting to use weapons of mass destruction within the U.S. and attempting to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles. Payen and Onta Williams were also found guilty on a count of attempting to kill officers and employees of the U.S. The four men appealed their conviction in late March 2011 claiming the government entrapped them. Cromitie, Onta Williams and David Williams were sentenced to 25 years in prison in June 2011. In September 2011, Payen was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
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May 25, 2009
New York, NY
Kyle Shaw
Attack: Bomb
None Confirmed
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Inspired by "Fight Club" teenager detonates bomb at a Manhattan Starbucks
On May 25, 2009, Kyle Shaw, a teenager and U.S. citizen from New York City, detonated a homemade bomb outside a Starbucks in Manhattan. Police arrested Shaw, 17 at the time, on July 14, 2009, after acquaintances informed police that Shaw was bragging about the attack and planning another.
No one was injured in the explosion, which caused minor damage to the store. Shaw reportedly told police he was inspired by the book and film "Fight Club" to commit sabotage against corporations.
Shaw originally pleaded not guilty to first-degree arson and first-degree criminal possession of a weapon, but changed his plea to guilty on September 17, 2010. The Manhattan Supreme Court Criminal Term sentenced him to three years and six months in prison and five years of probation.
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June 1, 2009
Little Rock, AR
Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad (Carlos Bledsoe)
Attack: Firearm
Al Qaeda
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U.S. citizen shoots two soldiers at U.S. military recruiting center in Arkansas
On June 1, 2009, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad opened fire on a U.S. military recruiting center in Little Rock, AR, murdering one soldier and wounding another.
A U.S. citizen, Muhammad is a Muslim convert born Carlos Bledsoe. He told police he was upset about the deaths of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan as a result of U.S. military action. He later claimed that he was a member of a Yemen-based affiliate of Al Qaeda, but authorities have been unable to confirm this affiliation. He spent about 16 months in Yemen starting in the fall of 2007, supposedly teaching English and learning Arabic. But Muhammad overstayed his visa there and was imprisoned for several months before being deported to the United States in January 2009.
On July 25, 2011, Muhammad pleaded guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder in Pulaski County District Court in Little Rock, AR, and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
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June 10, 2009
Washington, DC
James W. von Brunn
Attack: Firearm
White Supremacy
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United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting
U.S. citizen James W. von Brunn was accused of murdering a security guard at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC on June 10, 2009. The attack was reportedly motivated by von Brunn's anti-Semitic and white supremacist views.
Von Brunn was indicted on July 29 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for the murder, and using a firearm at a federal facility in connection with the crime.
Brunn died in prison in January 2010 while awaiting trial. He was 89 and had numerous health problems including chronic congestive heart failure.
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July 22, 2009
Raleigh, NC
Daniel Boyd,
Dylan Boyd,
Zakaria Boyd,
Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan,
Jude Kenan Mohammad,
Hysen Sherifi,
Anes Subasic,
Ziyad Yaghi
Support: Personnel
None Confirmed
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Raleigh, NC, group supports jihadist movements, plots domestic attack
Daniel Patrick Boyd is one of eight North Carolina men indicted on July 22, 2009, by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, as well as conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad.
Boyd recruited the other members of the group, who stockpiled weapons, traveled overseas several times to join jihadist movements, and supported militant Islamic efforts in foreign countries including Israel, Jordan, Kosovo and Pakistan. They were also accused of plotting an attack on a U.S. military base in Virginia. Boyd, a Muslim convert, reportedly received training from Islamic radicals in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The other group members were Boyd's sons Zakariya and Dylan, both U.S. citizens; Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, a U.S. citizen; Jude Kenan Mohammad, a U.S. citizen; Hysen Sherifi, a legal U.S. resident from Kosovo; Anes Subasic, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Bosnia; and Ziyad Yaghi, a naturalized U.S. citizen. Following the indictment, Boyd, his two sons, Hassan, Sherifi, Subasic, and Yaghi were arrested on July 27, 2009. Jude Kenan Mohammad is still at large and is believed to be in Pakistan.
Daniel Boyd and his sons pleaded guilty, and the other four members who were apprehended were tried and convicted. After pleading guilty on February 9, 2011, to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad, Daniel Patrick Boyd was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment, followed by 5 years supervised release, and a $3,000 fine, on August 24, 2012. Zakariya Boyd pleaded guilty on June 27, 2011, to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment. Dylan Boyd pleaded guilty on September 14, 2011, to aiding and abetting a conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and received a sentence of 8 years imprisonment. Following a jury trial, Hysen Sherifi, Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, and Ziyad Yaghi were found guilty on October 13, 2011. Sherifi was convicted for conspiring to provide material support to terrorists; conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons in a foreign country; two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; and conspiring to kill a federal officer or employee and was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Hassan and Yaghi were convicted for conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons in a foreign country. Hassan received a sentence of 15 years in prison, and Yaghi received 31 years and 8 months in prison. Subasic was tried separately, in two trials, one for immigration-related charges and the other for terrorism offenses. In September 2011, Subasic was found guilty of two counts of unlawful procurement of citizenship. On June 14, 2012, Subasic was found guilty of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists; and conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad. Subasic was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment followed by 5 years supervised release, and a $1,000 fine, on August 24, 2012.
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August 20, 2009
MN, Somalia
Zakaria Maruf
Support: Personnel
Al Shabaab
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Man linked to terrorist group Al Shabaab
On August 20, 2009, Zakaria Maruf, a legal U.S. resident from Somalia who lived in Minneapolis, MN, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota for conspiracy to provide support to Al Shabaab, conspiracy to kill, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and solicitation to commit a crime of violence. The indictment was unsealed on November 23, 2009.
Maruf is not in federal custody. His family claims he was killed in Somalia in July 2009.
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September 19, 2009
New York, NY
Najibullah Zazi,
Zarein Ahmedzay,
Imam Ahmad Wais Afzali,
Naqib Jaji,
Naiz Khan,
Adis Medunjanin,
Adnan El Shukrijumah,
Mohammed Wali Zazi
Plot: Bomb
Al Qaeda
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Queens man plans attack on New York City subway system
Najibullah Zazi, a legal U.S. resident from Afghanistan who attended high school in Queens, NY, was arrested on September 19, 2009, for plotting to attack the New York City subway system. He was initially arrested for making false statements to the FBI, but on September 23, 2009, a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York indicted Zazi for conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction within the U.S. A second indictment later added charges of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country and providing material support to Al Qaeda.
Authorities said that in 2008 Zazi attended an Al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan, where he received training in explosives. Upon returning to the U.S., Zazi stored instructions for making bombs on his laptop computer and acquired bomb-making materials, including hydrogen peroxide, acetone and hydrochloric acid. He reportedly sought to bomb New York City's subways to call attention to the deaths of Afghan civilians by the U.S. military. He described the plot as a "martyrdom operation," and said he was just days away from implementing it when he was arrested. U.S. citizens Adis Medunjanin and Zarein Ahmedzay, high school classmates of Zazi, were also accused of working with him on the plot and face the same charges. Others linked to the plot include: Adnan G. el-Shukrijumah, a Saudi Arabia-born naturalized U.S. citizen linked to Al Qaeda, who is believed to have recruited others to undertake the attack and is still at large; naturalized U.S. citizen Mohammed Wali Zazi, the father of Najibullah; Naqib Jaji, the uncle of Najibullah (citizenship status unknown); Naiz Khan, an acquaintance of Zazi's (citizenship status unknown); and legal permanent resident Ahmad Wais Afzali, an imam and occasional police informant from Afghanistan, who reportedly warned Zazi of police interest in the case and was later ordered to leave the country.
On February 22, 2010, Zazi pleaded guilty to plotting the bombings. Ahmedzay pleaded guilty to the same counts on April 23, 2010. Both potentially face a sentence of life in prison.
At a trial in Federal District Court in Brooklyn on Tuesday May 1, 2012, Medunjanin was found guilty on all charges against him which included conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, receiving military training from a terrorist group, and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. He faces life in prison at his sentencing which is scheduled to take place on September 7, 2012.
Naqib Jaji pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice charges in 2010 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and awaits sentencing. Mohammed Wali Zazi was convicted on July 22, 2011, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for obstruction of justice.
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September 23, 2009
Springfield, IL
Michael Finton
Plot: Bomb
Al Qaeda
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Plot to bomb the Springfield, IL, federal building
U.S. citizen Michael Finton was arrested on September 23, 2009, after he attempted to bomb the Paul Findley Federal Building in Springfield, IL. Finton reportedly hoped that the attack would lead U.S. troops to be removed from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Finton, who had converted to Islam while in prison for robbery and assault, was arrested for a parole violation in August 2008. Shortly after this, a letter about Finton's dreams of being a martyr for Islam was found by a parole officer in his vehicle. In the following months, undercover FBI agents posing as Al Qaeda operatives organized a sting operation, in which Finton drove a van he thought was full of explosives to the Paul Findley Federal Building and Courthouse in Springfield, IL. He parked and locked the vehicle, then later made cell phone calls that he thought would detonate the explosives. FBI agents arrested Finton immediately after the attempted bombing.
In May 2011 Finton pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of federal employees and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois and was sentenced to 28 years in prison.
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September 24, 2009
New York, NY
Betim Kaziu
Support: Personnel
Al Shabaab
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Brooklyn native attempts to join Al Shabaab
Betim Kaziu, a U.S. citizen and native of Brooklyn, NY, traveled to the Middle East in an attempt to join a terrorist organization.
Kaziu traveled overseas in February 2009 with the intention of fighting Islam's perceived enemies. After trying to join Al Shabaab and head to Pakistan for military training, Kaziu ultimately traveled to Kosovo. Kosovan authorities arrested Kaziu in connection to three Kosovan nationals suspected of planning terrorist attacks. Authorities recovered hand grenades and assault weapons connected to his arrest. Kaziu was extradited to the U.S. in late September 2009.
On September 24, 2009, Betim Kaziu was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On July 7, 2011, he was convicted for conspiring to commit murder overseas, conspiring to provide material support to terrorism, attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and conspiring to use a machine gun in furtherance of those crimes. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison in March 2012.
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September 24, 2009
Dallas, TX
Hosam Maher Husein Smadi
Plot: Bomb
Al Qaeda
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Teen plants bomb in parking garage of Dallas skyscraper
Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, a 19-year-old illegal immigrant from Jordan, was arrested after he attempted to bomb a 60-story Dallas skyscraper on September 24, 2009.
Smadi came to the attention of authorities after making anti-American comments on extremist websites and expressing a desire to wage jihad. He became friendly with an undercover FBI agent posing as a senior member of an Al Qaeda cell. Agents provided him with a vehicle containing a fake bomb, which Smadi drove into the parking lot under an office tower in Dallas. He then drove away with the FBI agent and used a cellphone to call a number he was told would detonate the explosives.
Smadi pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction on May 26, 2010. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas sentenced Smadi to 24 years in prison on October 19, 2010.
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October 13, 2009
MN
Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax,
Abdiweli Yassin Isse
Support: Personnel
Al Shabaab
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Men recruit in Minnesota for Somalian terrorist organization
Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax and Abdiweli Yassin Isse were both indicted on October 13, 2009, with conspiring to kill, kidnap, maim or injure persons outside the United States.
Faarax, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia, previously fought with Al Shabaab, but reportedly returned to the U.S. to recruit others for the group. Isse, also from Somalia originally, reportedly raised money to provide plane tickets for people to travel to Somalia to engage in warfare.
Both Faarax and Isse are still at large and believed to be outside the United States.
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October 16, 2009
PA
Colleen LaRose
Support: Personnel
None Confirmed
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"Jihad Jane": U.S. citizen supports terrorists
Colleen LaRose, a U.S. citizen from the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, was arrested on October 16, 2009, for attempting to recruit terrorists online and plotting to murder a Swedish cartoonist who offended Muslims by depicting the prophet Muhammad on a dog's body.
In mid-2008 LaRose began writing and placing videos on the Internet under the name "Jihad Jane" expressing her hope of becoming a martyr for Islam. LaRose is also reported to have recruited people on the Internet to support or engage in jihadist attacks.
On February 1, 2011, LaRose pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to all charges against her, including conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to support terrorists and lying to the FBI. She continues to await sentencing.
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October 21, 2009
Sudbury, MA
Ahmad Abousamra,
Tarek Mehanna
Support: Personnel
Daniel Maldonado,
Al Qaeda
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Massachusetts residents travel abroad to train with terrorist organizations
Tarek Mehanna, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Egypt, and Ahmad Abousamra, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Syria, conspired to support Al Qaeda, travelled to the Middle East to obtain training to carry out violent jihad against Americans, and provided false information to the government.
According to court records, beginning around 2001, Mehanna, Abousamra, and co-conspirators discussed their desire to participate in violent jihad against American interests and talked about fighting jihad and their desire to die on the battlefield. The men attempted to radicalize others and inspire each other by watching and distributing jihadi videos. Abousamra allegedly travelled to Pakistan twice in 2002 to obtain training in furtherance of jihad. In 2004, Mehanna, Abousamra, and another man traveled to the Middle East claiming to be visiting religious schools, however, prosecutors believe they were seeking jihadist training from terrorist organizations. Upon Abousamra's return to the U.S., he told Customs that he had visited Yemen, Syria, and Jordan, omitting he had also traveled into Iraq. In December 2006, Mehanna and Abousamra were each interviewed by agents from the Joint Terrorism Task Force, both men allegedly provided false information about the purpose of the 2004 trip. In addition, Mehanna lied about his relationship with Daniel Maldonado and provided false statements about where Maldonado was living and what Maldonado was doing.
In November 2008, Mehanna was arrested for the lies he told relating to Maldonado and was indicted on those charges in January 2009. On October 21, 2009, Mehanna was arrested for conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. On November 5, 2009, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a 10-count indictment charging Mehanna and Abousamra. Following an eight-week trial, Mehanna was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, conspiracy to make false statements to the FBI, and two counts of making false statements to the FBI in December 2011. On April 12, 2012, Mehanna was sentenced to 17 years and 6 months in prison and 7 years of supervised release. Ahmad Abousamra is believed to have fled to Syria in 2006. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued an arrest warrant for Abousamra on November 5, 2009. He is still at-large.
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October 27, 2009
Washington, DC
Farooque Ahmed
Plot: Bomb
Al Qaeda
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Plot to bomb the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit system in Washington, DC
The FBI arrested Farooque Ahmed, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, on October 27, 2010, for assisting efforts to bomb several Washington Metropolitan Area Transit ("Metro") trains simultaneously.
Ahmed, a Virginia resident, collected information on the security of several Metro locations and provided it to individuals he believed to be Al Qaeda affiliates. He also reportedly wanted to fight American forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Ahmed pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization and collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia sentenced him to 23 years in prison on April 11, 2011, as recommended by his plea agreement.
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November 5, 2009
Fort Hood, TX
Nidal Malik Hasan
Attack: Firearm
Anwar al-Awlaki
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Fort Hood mass shooting
On November 5, 2009, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist and U.S. citizen, attacked Fort Hood Military Base in Texas. Armed with a FN Herstal 5.7 Tactical Pistol equipped with 30- and 20-round large capacity ammunition magazines, he opened fire in a medical processing facility for soldiers either about to be deployed or recently returned. Firing over 200 shots, 13 people were killed and 32 were wounded.
Major Hasan was reportedly upset about soldiers harassing him for being a Muslim, and concerned about being deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq. The victims were nearly all military personnel except for two civilians. Before the attacks, Hasan is reported to have communicated with the radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki; he also suggested that revenge might be a justification for the 9/11 attacks and spoke in defense of Osama bin Laden while he was a psychiatric resident at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Despite these concerns of possible radicalization, no action was taken against Hasan, which some said represented a failure of the military's discipline and security processes. During the trial, Hasan took responsibility for the mass shooting and said he had been on the wrong side of a war against Islam and had switched over.
Hasan was wounded during the shooting; he is now paralyzed from the waist down. He is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In August 2013, following a 22-day court-martial, during which he represented himself, Hasan was convicted of all charges. He was sentenced to the death penalty.
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November 23, 2009
MN, Somalia
Adarus Abdulle Ali,
Omer Abdi Mohamed,
Mahamud Said Omar
Support: Personnel
Al Shabaab
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Minnesota residents support Al Shabaab
A group of Minnesota residents originally from Somalia were indicted in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on November 23, 2009, for their connections to Al Shabaab: Omer Abdi Mohamed, a legal U.S. resident , Adarus Abdulle Ali (citizenship status unknown), and Mahamud Said Omar, a legal U.S. resident from Somalia.
Both Mohamed and Omar face charges of supporting a terrorist group and conspiring to commit violence abroad. Mohamed reportedly recruited for Al Shabaab, convincing six other men to join the fight in Somalia. Omar allegedly provided money for young men from Minneapolis, MN, to travel to Somalia. He also reportedly bought them weapons. Omar was arrested in the Netherlands on November 8, 2009. Ali was charged with perjury for lying to a federal grand jury during a December 2008 terrorism investigation.
All three men were indicted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Ali pleaded guilty to the charges in November 2009. He continues to await sentencing. On July 18, 2011 Mohamed pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to Al Shabaab. Omar still awaits trial.
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December 2009
Pakistan
Umar Chaudhry,
Waqar Khan,
Ahmad Minni,
Aman Hassan Yemer,
Ramy Zamzam
Support: Personnel
Jaish-e-Mohammed,
Jamaat-ud-Dawa
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Five U.S. citizens attempt to fight against U.S. forces in Afghanistan
In December 2009 five northern Virginia men were arrested in Pakistan: Umar Chaudhry, Ramy Zamzam, Ahmad A. Minni, Waqar Khan and Aman Hassan Yemer. The group had traveled to Pakistan in an effort to join militant groups and fight against the U.S. military in Afghanistan. All of the men are U.S. citizens.
The men met with members of the militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which both took donations from the men but rejected them as fighters.
Although they did not carry out any attacks, the men were convicted by a Pakistani court in June 2010 on charges of conspiracy and supporting a terrorist organization. They received sentences of ten years in prison. The men have not faced charges in the United States, but news reports say the FBI is investigating the group's activities.
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