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Home Front: WoT
3 men in US terror ring get 15-45 years in prison
2012-01-15
NEW BERN, North Carolina: Three members of a homegrown terror ring who conspired to attack the Quantico US Marine Corps base and foreign targets were sentenced Friday to between 15 and 45 years in federal prison.
Their names, you'll be surprised to read, are not 'Nate', 'Ned' and 'Norman', but rather...
Hysen Sherifi, 27, will serve 45 years in prison; Ziyad Yaghi, 23, got nearly 32 years; and Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 24, was sentenced to 15 years. They faced the possibility of life in prison. Each said they would appeal their convictions and claimed innocence.

Dozens of members of Raleigh’s Muslim community made the five-hour round-trip to coastal New Bern to witness the hearing for the men whom supporters believe were unjustly convicted.
Yeah yeah, they were railroaded, all just because they were discussing how to murder infidels rather than being caught in the act...
Defense attorneys argued for lesser sentences since the men were convicted of discussing terrorism rather than committing terrorist acts.

“I believe I am innocent. There was no conspiracy,” said Serifi, who called his guilty verdict unfair and prosecutors tyrants.

But US District Judge Louise Flanagan said the men went beyond talk to planning violence.

Yaghi was a “self-starter” in pursuing holy war against those deemed un-Islamic and brought several potential jihadi recruits to ringleader Daniel Patrick Boyd, whose rural Johnston County home was a warehouse of weapons, Flanagan said. Yaghi traveled to Jordan and Israel to look for avenues to join other militants and to scout targets for an attack.

Sherifi discussed an attack on the Quantico, Virginia, Marine Corps base with Boyd, a Muslim convert who had lived on the base as a child with his Marine officer father.

Hassan used his Facebook account and Internet forums to post his own comments and videos by others encouraging Muslims to fight nonbelievers and Muslims who did not agree with their desire to establish mandatory religious law, prosecutors said. Hassan also attempted to contact Anwar Al-Awlaki, an American-born Muslim preacher and Al-Qaeda propagandist, and e-mailed a co-conspirator a copy of Al-Awlaki’s tract “44 ways to support Jihad,” Flanagan said.
I'll bet that set off an alarm at the NSA...
“You willingly became part of the Internet propaganda machine that is a canker on this world,” Flanagan said. “You were prey, and a component, of something that was incredibly harmful and destructive.”

The trio is among eight men who federal investigators say raised money, stockpiled weapons and trained in preparation for jihadist attacks. The plot “had a specific purpose — to inspire others to adhere to radical Islam and if you did not you were fair game,” prosecutor Jason Kellhofer said.

Hassan called his actions stupid, but not a crime.

“I did post some highly inflammatory things on the Internet, but I am no terrorist,” he said. He rejected Flanigan’s sentence, and his father, Aly Hassan, accused the judge and prosecutors of targeting Muslims.
Only the ones who plan to murder Americans...
“You’re prosecuting Islam. The judge should be sitting here with the government,” Aly Hassan said, pointing to the prosecutors.

Yaghi was convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism and conspiracy to carry out attacks overseas. Sherifi was convicted of both crimes, two counts of firearms possession, and conspiracy to kill federal officers or employees for plotting the Quantico attack. Hassan was convicted of providing material support to terrorists, but acquitted of a charge of conspiracy to carry out attacks overseas.

Boyd pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges in February and has yet to be sentenced. Two of his sons pleaded guilty to similar charges and were sentenced to eight years and nine years in prison.

Another defendant, Anes Subasic, is set to be tried separately, while an eighth indicted man is at large and believed to be in Pakistan.
We'll warm up a drone for him...
Link


Home Front: WoT
Three convicted in NC terror trial
2011-10-14
A federal jury has convicted three North Carolina Muslims of plotting to attack unspecified targets overseas, as well as the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va., in what prosecutors called a case of "homegrown terrorism."

Omar Aly Hassan, 22, Ziyad Yaghi, 21, and Hysen Sherifi, 24, were convicted Thursday of providing material support for terrorists. Yaghi and Sherifi were also convicted of conspiring to kill, kidnap or maim unspecified people overseas; Hassan was acquitted on the conspiracy charge.

Prosecutors in the trial said the men traveled overseas, raised money and trained with weapons in the service of a jihadist plot to kill perceived enemies of Islam. Defense lawyers said evidence presented in court did not show the defendants discussing or agreeing to any specific attack.

The government collected 750 hours of audio and video that included conversations between the defendants and three paid FBI informants; in those conversations, the defendants discussed jihad and their hatred for non-Muslims.

Friends and family members who attended the trial said there was selective prosecution of Muslims. Hassan's father, Aly Hassan, said that the trial had been "a long nightmare."

"Every single witness came out and said they never conspired with my son," Hassan said. "Conspiracy is a very elastic word."

Outside the courtroom, Sherifi's mother shouted, "Racist vultures!"

Mauri Saalakhan, director of an Islamic organization called the Peace Thru Justice Foundation, said the convicted men were victims of guilt by association. He called the undercover informants "provocateurs" who entrapped them.

Eight men were indicted in the case in 2009. Their accused leader, U.S.-born Daniel Boyd, a Muslim convert, testified for the government in a plea deal. So did his sons, Daniel Boyd, 24, and Zakariya Boyd, 21. They are to be sentenced later. A trial for the seventh defendant, Anes Subasic, has not been scheduled. The eighth defendant, Jude Kenan Mohammad, is a fugitive.

Prosecutors named no specific places, times or dates for attacks, except for a potential attack on the Marine base in Quantico. The elder Daniel Boyd had visited the base, and he and Sherifi had discussed its vulnerability to an attack on Marines and their families. Sherifi was also convicted of conspiring to kill members of the U.S. military and weapons violations.

In court, prosecutors displayed a stockpile of almost two dozen guns and 27,000 rounds of ammunition taken from a bunker under Daniel Boyd's home; they also played tapes of the defendants praising jihadist publications.

Defense lawyers said the defendants were foolish young men who made "stupid'' and offensive comments but did not commit any crimes.

Hassan and Yaghi are U.S. citizens. Sherifi, a Kosovo native, is a legal permanent U.S. resident. Sentencing is scheduled to take place in 90 days.
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Home Front: WoT
Dupe URL: FBI informant says Triangle terrorist cell leader intent on jihad
2011-09-23
An FBI informant testified Wednesday that the man accused of heading up a terrorist cell in the Triangle routinely spoke about waging a holy war.

The informant, a Muslim of Moroccan descent who goes by the code name "Jawbreaker," told a federal jury in New Bern that he got so close to Daniel Patrick Boyd that he was with him at the time of his arrest in July 2009.

Boyd pleaded guilty in February to charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons in a foreign country. He is expected to be a key witness in the trial of three other men charged in the case.

Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, Ziyad Yaghi and Hysen Sherifi face multiple felony charges related to allegations they conspired to attack targets overseas. Sherifi also is accused of plotting an attack on the Marine base in Quantico, Va.

A federal indictment unsealed in 2009 alleges that eight Triangle men raised money to buy assault weapons and conduct training exercises and that they arranged overseas travel and contacts to help others carry out violent acts on behalf of a radical jihadist political agenda.

In audio recordings of conversations between Boyd and Jawbreaker that were played in court, Boyd talked about his intentions to attack Quantico. He spoke of how easy it would be to get on the base because it's also a city.

"I did some preliminary reconnaissance, and what I saw was amazing. I saw the residences of all their commanding officers," Boyd said in one recording, adding that Sherifi was in on the plan.

Jawbreaker said Boyd was intensely loyal to Afghanistan, where he traveled in 1989 to join the fight against Soviet occupation. Boyd always wanted to fight non-Muslims, the informant said.

"Every single day, it was about jihad and fighting," Jawbreaker testified.

An FBI search of Boyd's Willow Spring home in 2009 turned up about two dozen guns and more than 27,000 rounds of ammunition.
Takes a chunk of money to stockpile that much, even if you're a regular at CheaperThanDirt.com .

Boyd's biological father was a Marine Captain. Parents divorced, mom remarried a Muslim lawyer in DC, kid converted at age 17. High school girlfriend converted right before the wedding ceremony. Moved to Peshawar in 1989. Joined the Mujahadeen in Afghan to fight the infidel Soviets. Came home, started a store/worship room and began planning his next jihad adventure.
Link


Home Front: WoT
NC town braces for terror trial
2010-08-03
The federal trial of seven alleged terrorists could be held in U.S. District Court on Middle Street in New Bern next year. A tentative trial date had been set for next month in New Bern, but the case was continued because thousands of pages of Arabic documents had to be translated, according to district court officials.

A U.S. District Court spokeswoman, Robin Zier, told the Sun Journal that the trial could be held sometime next year, but no court has been designated. “It could be held in U.S. District Court in New Bern or Raleigh. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Louise Flannigan is assigned the case,” she said.

Facing charges are:
Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, the suspected ringleader of the group.
Hysen Sherifi, 24, a Kosovan immigrant who legally relocated to the Raleigh area.
Anes Subasic, 33.
Zakariya Boyd, 20.
Dylan Boyd, 22.
Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22.
Ziyad Yaghi, 21.
All are U.S. citizens except for Sherifi. They all face life sentences if theyre convicted of the charges of conspiracy to take part in a terrorist plot. The men were indicted July 2009 and for conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad.

Daniel Patrick Boyd of Johnston County went under the alias of Saifullah. The indictment said Boyd trained in Afghanistan from 1989-1992 and fought in the Soviet war in Afghanistan, which ended in 1989.

According to David Kris, an assistant attorney with the U.S. Justice Department,“Daniel Patrick Boyd is a veteran of terrorist training camps in Pakistan, who over the past three years, has conspired with others in this country to recruit and help young men travel overseas in order to kill. Boyd received military-style training for the purpose of engaging in terrorist training for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad.” The indictment also says that Boyd and several of the accused traveled to Israel in June 1997 to engage in “violent jihad” but subsequently returned to the U.S. after failing in their efforts.

Across the street from the federal courthouse in New Bern is Centenary Methodist Church, which also has a day care facility. The senior pastor of the church, the Rev. Susan Pate Greenwood, said no notices had been sent to parents of day care students because no notification of a trial date has been made. “There had been rumors, but no official notification from federal officials had been made with church officials,” Greenwood said. Greenwood said if the trial is held in New Bern next year, notifications would be sent out to parents. “We have no hard evidence of such a trial, but will be in contact with federal officials,” she said.
Link


Terror Networks
Kosovo man charged with supporting N.C. terror suspects
2010-06-18
A man arrested in Kosovo is linked to the eight Triangle-area men suspected of plotting terrorist attacks, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Bajram Asllani, 29, an ethnic Albanian and native of Mitrovico, Kosovo, was convicted of terrorism in Serbia but had been living out in his home country when he was arrested Thursday following an extradition request from the United States, police said. He faces charges of providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure persons.

An April 19 criminal complaint unsealed Thursday alleges that Asllani conspired with eight men charged last July with plotting a series of terrorist attacks overseas and securing weapons and training in North Carolina.

Seven suspects – Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, his sons, Dylan Boyd, 22, and Zakariya "Zak" Boyd, 20, and Hysen Sherifi, 24, Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22, Ziyad Yaghi, 21, and Anes Subasic, 33 – are being held in the U.S. An eighth suspect, Jude Kenan Mohammad, 20, is believed to be in Pakistan.

The criminal complaint alleges that Asllani was in contact with the other suspects, solicited money for them and helped them travel with the purpose of establishing "a base of operations in Kosovo for the purpose of waging violent jihad."

Sherifi became acquainted with Asllani during a July 2008 trip to Pristinia, Kosovo, court documents say. The documents say that Asllani directed Sherifi to return to the U.S. and collect money to establish a community in Kosovo, which would be used to store weapons and ammunition and as a base to launch attacks in Kosovo and other countries.

Sherifi returned to the U.S. in April 2009 and collected $15,000 but was arrested before he could return to Kosovo, documents say. Sherifi is also accused of giving Asllani money for travel documents.

The court documents say that Daniel Boyd said he wanted to go, along with his sons, to Kosovo. The sons and Sherifi allegedly talked with Asllani online.

U.S. authorities said that Asllani was placed under house arrest by Kosovo law enforcement in 2007. In September 2009, a Serbian court convicted him in abstentia on terror-related charges and sentenced him to eight years in prison.

Kosovo police said the arrest and a search of Asllani's home were authorized by a judge with the European Union's Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, known as EULEX. Police spokesman Baki Kelani said they only had executed the arrest warrant, and everything else was handled at the diplomatic level between both countries and EULEX.
Link


Home Front: WoT
Suspects in Quantico terror plot appear in court
2010-04-17
The seven Triangle area men charged with plotting terrorism attacks were back at the federal courthouse in Raleigh Friday morning.

Daniel Boyd, his sons, Dylan and Zakariya, and four other suspects - Anes Subasic, Hysen Sherifi, Mohammad Hassan and Ziyad Yaghi -- are all charged with plotting to attack the Marine base at Quantico and wage Islamic jihad abroad. Authorities say their operation was being run from a home in Johnston County.

Friday's hearing was about the massive amount of evidence lawyers need to go through before the case can go to trial. "We estimate that 29,000 pages of paper, 750 hours of audio and videotape and 24 computers," defense attorney Dan Boyce said. "So it's a daunting task, to say the least."

The FBI has said that it seized some two dozen weapons from the Boyd household and that a pit had been dug under their back deck to be used to store the guns. They also seized more than 27,000 rounds of ammunition, along with $14,000 in cash.

In an interview with agents, Dylan Boyd claimed that the U.S. Army was overseas raping and killing "their" Muslim sisters and repeatedly called the FBI agents questioning him "kuffar" -meaning nonbelievers. He also said the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were an "inside job."

The seven men are scheduled to go on trial in Raleigh in September.
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