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| Man sentenced in California terrorism probe |
| 2008-06-24 |
| One of four men accused of plotting from behind bars to attack military sites, synagogues and other targets in California has been sentenced to 22 years in federal prison. Levar Haley Washington was sentenced Monday by US District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney after pleading guilty last year to conspiring to levy war against the United States and using a firearm to further the conspiracy. Authorities say Washington was in a California prison gang cell of radical Muslims that planned attacks in the Los Angeles area and intended to finance them through robberies. |
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| CA case draws attention to homegrown hard boyz |
| 2005-09-04 |
| An alleged plot targeting military facilities, synagogues and other Los Angeles-area sites has highlighted what experts say is a novel terrorist threat: homegrown American militants operating with little or no help from Islamic extremists abroad. Four suspects were charged Wednesday with conspiring to wage war against the U.S. government through terrorism. Named in the federal indictment were Levar Haley Washington, 25; Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21; Hammad Riaz Samana, 21; and Kevin James, 29. All but Samana, a Pakistani national, are American-born Muslim converts. Counterterrorism officials have found no evidence directly linking the group - described as the cell of a California prison gang of radical Muslims - to al-Qaeda or other foreign terror networks. Law enforcement officials and terrorism experts said it could represent one of the first Islamic terrorism cases involving U.S. natives without those connections. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror strikes, an international dragnet has broken up training camps, disrupted finances and sent terrorist leaders underground, making it all the more difficult for al-Qaeda to mount attacks. Yet despite tougher border control, a radical ideology shared by the terrorist network continues to seep into the United States through propaganda distributed via the Internet, books, pamphlets, DVDs and the media - a ``passive recruiting strategy,'' according to terrorism experts. That's helped transform al-Qaeda into a movement with disciples acting without funding, expertise or guidance of foreign handlers. ``Al-Qaeda can't get their militants to the places they want to hit, so they rely on an ideology to gain converts who do it for them,'' said professor Brian Levin, a terrorism researcher at California State University, San Bernardino. In the Southern California case, prosecutors say cell members largely supported themselves. Washington, Patterson and Samana allegedly robbed gas stations to finance their plans to target military sites, synagogues, the Israeli Consulate and the El Al airport counter in the Los Angeles area. Patterson purchased a .223 caliber rifle. Samana underwent ``firearms training and physical training'' at a local park, according to the indictment. They even conducted research on potential targets and Jewish holidays - dates they allegedly planned the assaults to ``maximize the number of casualties,'' prosecutors said. Samana's lawyer, Timothy Lannen, described his client in a statement as a ``peace-loving, law-abiding member of our community'' and said ``he did not intend at any time to commit violence against anyone.'' The plot's suspected mastermind was James, a California State Prison, Sacramento, inmate who founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, authorities said. Washington converted to Islam while imprisoned there for a previous robbery conviction. Self-made groups in the United States can be more difficult to root out because they're smaller and have fewer financial resources to track, experts said. ``They're adopting the al-Qaeda agenda and philosophy and carrying out their own jihad,'' said Buck Revell, a former FBI associate deputy director and counterterrorism chief. ``Unfortunately, they may be successful because they're extremely hard to detect.'' |
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| LA gang is a real autonomous group "inspired" by al-Qaeda |
| 2005-09-02 |
| An alleged plot targeting military facilities, synagogues and other Los Angeles-area sites has highlighted what experts say is a growing terrorist threat: homegrown American militants operating with little or no help from Islamic extremists abroad. Four suspects were charged Wednesday with conspiring to wage war against the U.S. government through terrorism. Named in the federal indictment were Levar Haley Washington, 25; Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21; Hammad Riaz Samana, 21; and Kevin James, 29. All but Samana, a Pakistani national, are American born and Muslim converts. Counterterrorism officials have found no evidence directly connecting the group - described as the cell of a California prison gang of radical Muslims - to al-Qaida or other foreign terror networks. Law enforcement officials and terrorism experts said it could represent one of the first Islamic terrorism cases involving U.S. natives without those connections. Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror strikes, an international dragnet has broken up training camps, disrupted finances and sent terrorist leaders underground, making it all the more difficult for al-Qaida to mount attacks. Yet despite tougher border control, a radical ideology shared by the terrorist network continues to seep into the United States through propaganda distributed via the Internet, books, pamphlets, DVDs and the media - a "passive recruiting strategy," according to terrorism experts. That's helped transform al-Qaida into a movement with disciples acting without funding, expertise or guidance of foreign handlers. "Al-Qaida can't get their militants to the places they want to hit, so they rely on an ideology to gain converts who do it for them," said Professor Brian Levin, a terrorism researcher at California State University, San Bernardino. In the Southern California case, prosecutors say cell members largely supported themselves. Washington, Patterson and Samana allegedly robbed gas stations to finance their plans to target military sites, synagogues, the Israeli Consulate and the El Al airport counter in the Los Angeles area. Patterson purchased a .223 caliber rifle. Samana underwent "firearms training and physical training" at a local park, according to the indictment. They even conducted Internet research on potential targets and Jewish holidays - dates they allegedly planned the assaults to "maximize the number of casualties," prosecutors said. Samana's lawyer, Timothy Lannen, described his client in a statement Thursday as a "peace-loving, law-abiding member of our community" and said "he did not intend at any time to commit violence against anyone." An attorney in Washington's state robbery case had not reviewed the federal indictment and had no immediate comment. Patterson's lawyer has said his client asked him not to comment. The plot's suspected mastermind was James, a California State Prison, Sacramento, inmate who founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS, authorities said. Washington converted to Islam while imprisoned there for a previous robbery conviction. James, who along with Washington and Patterson is black, spent time in Southern California and was so far removed from overseas groups that he feigned Middle Eastern roots to strengthen his credibility. He told inmates he was Sudanese and that his father was a top official there. "He is neither Sudanese nor is his father a high official of anything. He was trying to give himself a Middle Eastern background," said a law enforcement official close to the investigation who asked to remain anonymous because the case is pending. Self-made groups in the United States can be more difficult to root out because they're smaller and have fewer financial resources to track, experts said. That has law enforcement authorities on guard for more attacks by homegrown groups. "They're adopting the al-Qaida agenda and philosophy and carrying out their own jihad," said Buck Revell, a former FBI associate deputy director and counterterrorism chief. "Unfortunately, they may be successful because they're extremely hard to detect." |
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| 4 indicted in LA terror plot |
| 2005-09-01 |
| The head of a radical Islamic prison gang and three others were indicted Wednesday on federal charges of planning terrorist attacks against U.S. military facilities, the Israeli Consulate and other Los Angeles-area targets. Levar Haley Washington, 25, Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21, Hammad Riaz Samana, 21, and Kevin James, 29, face counts of conspiracy to wage war against the U.S. government through terrorism, kill armed service members and murder foreign officials, among other charges, according to the indictment. Prosecutors contend the plot was orchestrated by Washington, Patterson and Samana at the behest of James, a California State Prison, Sacramento, inmate who founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS. Washington converted to Islam while serving three years in the prison for a previous robbery conviction. According to the indictment, Washington pledged his loyalty to James "until death by martyrdom" and sought to establish a JIS cell outside prison with members with bomb expertise. Washington, Patterson and Samana â who attended the same Inglewood mosque â allegedly conducted surveillance of military sites, synagogues, the Israeli Consulate and El Al airline facilities in the Los Angeles area as well as Internet research on Jewish holidays. Law enforcement officials have previously said that the military facilities included National Guard sites, though the indictment does not specify. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, in announcing the charges in Washington, D.C., referred to the London mass transit attacks in July. "Some in this country mistakenly believed it could not happen here. Today we have chilling evidence that it is possible," he said. The attacks were to be carried out with firearms and other weapons at synagogues during Jewish holidays "in order to maximize the number of casualties," authorities said. Patterson purchased a .223-caliber rifle in July, authorities said. In Los Angeles, authorities said the suspects â all but one American born â could have attacked as soon as the Yom Kippur Jewish holiday in October. "Make no mistake about it â we dodged a bullet here, perhaps many bullets," Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton said at a news conference on the case. "We have a tendency to think of terrorism as (foreign born)," added U.S. Attorney Debra Yang. "And this is a very stark reminder that it can be ... local and homegrown." To finance the attack, prosecutors said, Washington, Patterson and Samana robbed a string of gas stations in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The case arose after Washington and Patterson were arrested July 5 by police in Torrance, a suburb southwest of Los Angeles, for investigation of robbing gas stations. Federal and local counterterrorism officials began investigating after police who searched Washington's apartment in the robbery case said they found a possible target list. Samana, a student originally from Pakistan who lived in Inglewood, was taken into federal custody Aug. 2. Patterson's defense attorney, Winston McKesson, said his client asked him not to comment on the case. "He will allow the matter to be resolved in court," McKesson said. Jerome Haig, Washington's public defender in the state robbery case, declined to comment because he said he had not read the indictment. He added that he would not represent Washington in the federal terrorism case. Samana's defense attorney did not immediately return calls seeking comment Wednesday. James â known as Shakyh Shahaab Murshid, among other aliases â founded JIS in 1997 while imprisoned for an attempted-robbery conviction in Los Angeles County, prosecutors said. He preached that the duty of JIS members to attack enemies of Islam. Washington was paroled in November 2004, around the time authorities say he joined James' group. James then instructed Washington to recruit five members without felony convictions and train them to conduct covert operations, acquire firearms with silencers and appoint a group member to help produce remotely activated explosives, prosecutors claim. The FBI recently ordered its agents nationwide to conduct "threat assessments" of inmates who may have become radicalized in prison and could commit extremist violence upon their release. FBI Director Robert Mueller said authorities have found no links between al-Qaeda or other foreign terror groups and the alleged plot. All four suspects are charged with conspiracy to levy war against the U.S. government through terrorism and conspiracy to posses and discharge firearms in a violent crime. Washington, Patterson and Samana each face a count of conspiracy to kill members of the U.S. government uniformed services and a count of conspiracy to kill foreign officials. Washington and Patterson alone are charged with a robbery count and using a firearm in a violent crime. The defendants face life in prison if convicted of conspiring to kill uniformed members of the U.S. military, the second count. Seditious conspiracy, the first count, has not been widely used in terrorism cases. Typically, defendants in post-9/11 cases in the United States have been charged with providing material support to a designated terrorist organization. There was no such group identified in this case. Los Angeles County prosecutors said they will retain jurisdiction over their robbery case against Patterson and Washington despite the federal charges. |
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| FBI to Do Prisoner 'Threat Assessment' |
| 2005-08-31 |
| FBI agents nationwide have been ordered to conduct "threat assessments" of inmates who may have become radicalized in prison and could commit extremist violence upon their release, according to an FBI letter obtained by The Associated Press. "The primary goal of these efforts is to assess and disrupt the recruitment and conversion of inmates to radicalized ideologies which advocate violence," according to a letter from the acting assistant chief of the FBI's Los Angeles office, Randy D. Parsons. The agency has been concerned since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that groups with extremist ideologies may be targeting felons as prime candidates for conversion during their time in prison. The agency has worked with prison officials to identify potentially disruptive groups for "some time," according to the letter. "However, recent investigations have identified a clear need to increase the FBI's focus and commitment in this area," Parsons wrote in the letter, dated Friday and obtained Tuesday by the AP. He said the FBI wants to increase its efforts to "identify, report, analyze and disrupt efforts by extremist persons or groups to radicalize, recruit or advocate for the purpose of violence within correctional facilities." Spokeswomen for the FBI's Los Angeles office and for the FBI in Washington, D.C., declined to comment on the letter. Karen Ernst, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Sacramento, confirmed her office is participating in the "threat assessments." The order comes as an investigation continues into whether a suspected Southern California terror plot originated in a state prison in Folsom, near Sacramento. Three Los Angeles area men, including a parolee from California State Prison, Sacramento, are suspected of plotting attacks on Jewish and National Guard sites. FBI director Robert Mueller warned the Senate Intelligence Committee in February that prisons are "fertile ground for extremists." "The FBI will be going into each institution and assessing each population," said Todd Slosek, spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He expects the FBI to examine the department's information on all "disruptive groups," including prison gangs and Islamic organizations. That shouldn't interfere with inmate religious practices, free speech or other rights, Parsons wrote in the letter. Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, said he worries that some inmates are forming radical groups and "putting a veneer on it and calling it Islam." He also said that many inmates who adopt religion in prison emerge less violent. Authorities said they believe the Southern California plan originated in a shadowy group at the Folsom prison known as Jamiyyat Ul Islam Is Saheeh. That case arose after 25-year-old Levar Haley Washington and another man were arrested July 5 by police in Torrance, a suburb southwest of Los Angeles, for investigation of robbing gas stations. Counterterrorism officials in California have said they suspect a list found in Washington's Los Angeles apartment contained potential terrorist targets, although Washington has not been charged with a terrorism-related crime. The list included National Guard recruiting stations, synagogues and the Israeli Consulate. Authorities believe the attacks were to be carried out this coming Sept. 11, George Gascon, assistant chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, has said. Washington converted to Islam in the Sacramento-area prison before his parole in November. |
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