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| Saudi Student Found Guilty of Sudden Jihad Syndrome | |
| 2012-06-28 | |
| Updated/1:35p.m. After nearly two hours of deliberation the jury found Khalid Aldawsari guilty of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Sentencing will be on October 9 in Amarillo. __________________ Closing arguments from the defense and the prosecution wrapped up Wednesday morning in the trial of Lubbock terrorism suspect Khalid Aldawsari. The former Texas Tech and South Plains College student from Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... is charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. At the start of the trial, the defense painted the accused as a failure who wasn't planning an attack, and wouldn't have succeeded in carrying one out. In closing statements, prosecutors say this isn't about the defendant being a failure, citing the fact he got into college. They point out there were obvious steps toward committing the crime: prosecutors say he watched instructional videos on making a bomb 198 times and had more than 200 pages of notes. He was one ingredient short of constructing the bomb. On the morning of his arrest, the defendant prayed for martyrdom and killing, saying he would not have stopped until he detonated a bomb on American soil. Defense attorney Dan Cogdell claims there is a lot of evidence, but no answers. He told the jury there is no evidence of any set target, where the defendant was going to make the bomb, and that his client did not have all the materials to construct the bomb. "Hate him to his core, hate him to his dying day, but don't convict him on misinformation they failed to prove," Cogdell said. "Khalid Aldawsari is not guilty on what he is charged with." The prosecution spent several days presenting their case. The defense presented no evidence and called no witnesses to testify. The jury is deliberating the case. Check back here for details.
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| Judge recuses self in case of Saudi accused of US bomb plot |
| 2012-04-06 |
| LUBBOCK, Texas - A Texas judge presiding over the case of a Saudi student accused of attempting to build and detonate bombs against targets including the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush has recused himself before the scheduled start of the trial. US District Judge Sam Cummings issued the order Wednesday without explanation, and it was unclear on Thursday whether the trial would be reset. US District Judge Donald Walter of Louisiana was appointed on Thursday to handle the case. The appointment was made by US District Judge Sidney Fitzwater of Texas. Khalid Aldawsari, a 21-year-old Saudi citizen who came to the United States on a student visa, was scheduled to stand trial later this month on a charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. The Saudi national is accused of targeting several U.S. locations, including power plants, nightclubs and Bush's home in Dallas. He was incarcerated in February 2011 after authorities said he tried to purchase a large amount of a suspicious chemical. |
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| US grand jury indicts Saudi accused in bomb plot |
| 2011-03-11 |
| [Emirates 24/7] A federal grand jury in Texas on Wednesday indicted a 20-year-old Saudi student accused in a bomb plot with targets including the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush. Jurors determined federal authorities had enough evidence to take Khalid Aldawsari to trial on a charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. If convicted, the former chemical engineering exchange student could face up to life in prison. US District Judge Sam Cummings issued a gag order in the case on Wednesday barring Aldawsari and attorneys involved in the case from talking to the media. Federal Sherlocks accused Aldawsari of investigating power plants, nightclubs and Bush's home and purchasing chemicals to build a bomb in his second-floor apartment across from the Texas Tech University campus. Tips from a North Carolina chemical company and a Lubbock freight company alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to court documents. He was nabbed February 28. Aldawsari was in the United States on a student visa studying chemical engineering and business in Lubbock, according to court documents. Former roommates described Aldawsari as polite, private and not overtly religious. But emails and journal entries released by Sherlocks in court documents have the exchange student writing of religious war and of founding his own chapter of the terror organisation al Qaeda. He remained in the Lubbock County Jail on Wednesday. His attorneys late last week waived a detention hearing set for Friday. |
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