Boston.FBI.gov: Boston, MA - "SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT CHARGES TWO MEN WITH CONSPIRING TO PROVIDE MATERIAL SUPPORT TO A DESIGNATED FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION" (SNIPPET: "... TAREK MEHANNA, 27, of Sudbury, Massachusetts, and AHMAD ABOUSAMRA, 28, who currently resides in Syria...") (June 17, 2010)
BOSTON.com: "NO BAIL FOR ALLEGED SUDBURY TERROR PLOTTER" by Shelley Murphy and Martin Finucane (SNIPPET: "Prosecutors allege that Mehanna, 27, and a second man, Ahmad Abousamra, 28, formerly of Mansfield, tried to join a terrorist training camp overseas, but were rejected, then plotted to shoot shoppers at a suburban mall, but scrapped the plan because they could not get automatic weapons. They are also accused of plotting to kill two unidentified government officials. Mehanna also allegedly incited violence by translating pro-jihad materials from Arabic to English and posting them on the Web.") (November 18, 2009, 05:46 pm)
INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "UNDERSTANDING TEREK MEHANNA" (SNIPPET: "What is important to understand about Terek Mehanna is how his online activities - operating his own website, translating key jihadi texts in to English, and distributing videos - were manifestations of his underlying ambition to eventually participate in real-world terrorism, an ambition which is amply demonstrated by the activities described in the criminal complaint against him.") (October 27, 2009)
BOSTON HERALD.com: "TERROR SUSPECT A PHARMACIST, SON OF A PROFESSOR" by Jessica Van Sack and Laura Crimaldi (SNIPPET: "He also maintains a blog at iskandrani.wordpress.com, where he posts English translations of Web pages devoted to influential jihad advocates and spiritual patrons in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to an arrest affidavit. His online blog identity is Abu Sabaaya.") (October 21, 2009)
TERRAPLEXIC.org/Current-Intelligence: "WHEN IDEOLOGUES (PLAN TO) ATTACK" by Marisa Urgo (SNIPPET: "Today, the FBI arrested for a second time Tarek Mehanna, a 27 year old Massachusetts man. This time Mehanna was arrested on various terrorism-related charges associated with a plot to attack shopping malls. Mehanna's plot appears to have been more "aspirational" rather than operational. However, the Mehanna arrest is significant, because he was a member of a prominent circle of young Salafist-Jihadists living in the United States. His blog was primarily dedicated to Salafist-Jihadist thought, and it was regularly linked back on by other members of the circle. Those members remain very active online, blogging and sharing jihadi media. They are for the most part the virtual epicenter of Salafist-Jihadism in the United States.") (October 22, 2009)
http://www.telegram.com/article/20110804/NEWS/108049423/-1/NEWS04
Thursday, August 4, 2011
“Terror charges against former Worcester teacher allowed to stand
Judge rejects free speech bid”
By Denise Lavoie THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON —
SNIPPET: “As a volunteer before his arrest in October 2009, Mr. Mehanna was teaching science, math and religion at the Muslim academy on East Mountain Street in Worcester.
Authorities have said Mr. Mehanna and two other men sought training at terrorist camps in the Middle East. Prosecutors said the men told friends they were rejected because of their nationality, ethnicity or inexperience, or that they were unable to make contact with people they hoped would get them into such camps.”
“...’Occupy Boston’ Holds Rally for Accused Terrorist” by Guy Benson
(October 10, 2011)
Previous thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2391905/posts
“NO BAIL FOR ALLEGED SUDBURY TERROR PLOTTER”
BOSTON.com - BOSTON GLOBE ^ | November 18, 2009, 05:46 pm | y Shelley Murphy and Martin Finucane
Posted on November 22, 2009 1:10:44 AM PST by Cindy
“Witness says suspect wanted to fight Americans in Iraq, hope to participate in jihad”
By Associated Press, Published: November 17
SNIPPET: “BOSTON — An American in prison for training at a terrorist camp in Somalia testified Thursday that a fellow American accused of plotting to help al-Qaida told him that he would fight U.S. soldiers in Iraq, if given the chance.
Daniel Maldonado took the witness stand Thursday in the trial of Tarek Mehanna, a Sudbury, Mass., man charged with plotting to provide material support to al-Qaida and unsuccessfully attempting to get training at a terrorist camp in Yemen. Mehanna then allegedly began helping al-Qaida by translating and distributing online texts and videos promoting violent jihad.”
BOSTON GLOBE.com: "WITNESS TESTIFIES ABOUT TERROR SUSPECT'S INFLUENCE Alleges Mehanna backed 9/11 attacks" by Milton J. Valencia (SNIPPET: "Daniel Maldonado converted to Islam in 1999 and soon found guidance and insight in Tarek Mehanna, the high-profile witness testified yesterday in Mehanna's terrorism trial in US District Court in Boston.") (November 18, 2011) (Read More...)
http://www.investigativeproject.org/3350/raising-money-for-lady-al-qaida
“Raising Money for ‘Lady Al-Qaida’”
IPT News
December 19, 2011
SNIPPET: “A Northeastern University Muslim chaplain, who also is a Roxbury, Mass. imam, hailed a terrorist convicted of attempting to murder Americans in Afghanistan as “brave,” while painting the United States as an oppressive nation of infidels.
“They say that she took up a machine gun while they held her captive in the other room and was ready to attack her captives. What a brave woman she is,” Abdullah Faaruuq said at a Dec. 8 fundraiser for Aafia Siddiqui.
Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist also known as “Lady al-Qaida,” is serving an 86-year prison sentence after being convicted of attempting to assault and murder American officers in Afghanistan. Prosecutors say she grabbed an Army officer’s M-4 rifle and fired it at another officer and other members of a U.S. interview team at an Afghan police compound in July 2008. She was originally detained by Afghan officials who found in her possession notes about a “mass casualty attack” in the United States, along with a list of New York landmarks.
The fundraiser, “In Support of our Sister, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui,” was held at the Islamic Center of Worcester. Speakers repeatedly cast her prosecution and conviction as unjust.”
SNIPPET: “In addition to lauding Siddiqui’s “bravery,” Faaruuq also condemned American soldiers, the very people who defend America, as “kafirs,” meaning infidels.
“And if my mother was in the same place,” he said, “she would have took (sic) her West Indian machete and cut her way through those kafirs.””
SNIPPET: “The presiding judge who reviewed all the evidence saw things differently. U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman said “significant incarceration” was called for because Siddiqui’s acts were premeditated. In his sentencing, he also noted anti-American statements witnesses said were made by Siddiqui while firing on the soldiers, like “I want to kill Americans” and “Death to America.”
It’s not the first time Faaruuq has engaged in violent rhetoric while standing up for Siddiqui. Charles Jacobs, president of the Boston-based Americans for Peace and Tolerance, wrote in October that Faaruuq sees cases like Siddiqui’s as part of an effort to target Muslims in America. Muslims should “grab onto the gun and the sword, go out and do your job” in response, Faaruuq said.
Faaruuq also is advocating for Tarek Mehanna, on trial in Boston for conspiring to support terrorists and to kill Americans in a foreign country.
Also coming to Siddiqui’s defense at the fundraiser was Imam Siraj Wahhaj of the Masjid Al-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn, New York. Wahhaj has a history of defending convicted terrorists, listed as an unindicted co-conspirator and having served as a character witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman, the so-called “blind sheik,” convicted of conspiring to bomb the World Trade Center in 1993.”
NOTE The following text is a quote:
www.fbi.gov/boston/press-releases/2011/massachusetts-man-convicted-on-terrorism-related-charges
Massachusetts Man Convicted on Terrorism-Related Charges
U.S. Attorney’s Office
December 20, 2011
District of Massachusetts
BOSTON—After 10 hours of deliberation, a federal jury has convicted a Sudbury, Mass., man of four terrorism-related charges and three charges related to providing false information to the government.
Tarek Mehanna, 29, faces up to life in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaeda; providing material support to terrorists (and conspiracy to do so); conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country; conspiracy to make false statements to the FBI and two counts of making false statements.
Carmen M. Ortiz, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said, “Following weeks of testimony and evidence, a jury of Mr. Mehanna’s peers have rendered a just verdict of guilty. I want to commend the investigators and prosecutors who have worked tirelessly on this case, and who also work day after day serving the interests of the public to ensure the integrity of our national security. Preventing a terrorist attack is our number one priority, and as a result of their hard work, a potential threat has been eliminated.”
“From his travel to Yemen to receive training to kill American soldiers to his material support for terrorism at home, Mr. Mehanna’s efforts to use and support violence followed no pre-defined path and knew no bounds,” said Richard DesLauriers, the Special Agent in Charge of the Boston FBI. “The FBI has a clarion mission to investigate all potential threats to the United States in order to protect our community from harm. The FBI fulfilled its most important mission by stopping Mehanna’s conspiracy to support terrorism, the goal of which was an unlawful affront to our nation’s cherished ideal of peaceful dissent.”
“Although each of the various state, local and federal agencies of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force worked together to thwart Mr. Mehanna’s terrorist activities, I’d like to recognize the Lowell Police Department, which played a particularly important role in the investigation. Working together, our community and nation should be proud of the Joint Terrorism Task Force’s effort to detect, deter and prevent homegrown violent extremists like Mr. Mehanna and others who seek to use violence, rather than democratic means, to achieve their political or social goals.”
During the course of the nearly eight week trial, the jurors heard testimony that Mehanna 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 co-conspirators attempted to radicalize others and inspire each other by, among other things, watching and distributing jihadi videos. Mehanna and two of his associates traveled to the Middle East in February 2004, seeking military-type training at a terrorist training camp that would prepare them for armed jihad against U.S. interests, including U.S. and allied forces in Iraq. One of Mehanna’s co-conspirators made two similar trips to Pakistan in 2002.
After returning to the United States, Mehanna continued his efforts to provide material support by, among other things, translating and posting on the internet al Qaeda recruitment videos and other documents.
In December 2006, Mehanna was interviewed by federal authorities regarding a trip by Mehanna, Abousamra and another individual, to Yemen in 2004. During that interview, Mehanna provided false information and made fraudulent and fictitious statements about the purpose of that trip and his relationship with coconspirator Daniel Joseph Maldonado, aka Daniel Aljughaifi. Mehanna lied to the FBI concerning where Maldonado was living at the time and what Maldonado was doing. Just a few days prior to the FBI interview, Mehanna received a call from Maldonado, who was in Somalia receiving military-type training for jihad. Mehanna admitted in recorded conversations, that he had lied to the FBI about Maldonado’s whereabouts and training in Somalia. Mehanna also lied to the FBI concerning his trip to Yemen in 2004. Mehanna did, in fact, go to Yemen with Abousamra and another individual to conduct, and to subsequently engage in, jihad.
In 2007, Maldonado pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas, admitting that he had traveled from Houston to Africa in November 2005 and then on to Somalia in December 2006 to join the Islamic Courts Union and elements of al-Qaida to fight “jihad” against the Transitional Federal Government to establish an independent Islamic State in Somalia. Maldonado was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the maximum statutory penalty for receiving military training from a terrorist organization.
Mehanna faces up to life in prison on the charge of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, up to 15 years in prison on the charges of providing material support and conspiring to do so, up to eight years in prison on each of the charges of making false statement, and up to three years on the charge of conspiracy to make false statements. All counts carry up to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) members: Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs Border Protection, the Massachusetts State Police and the Lowell Police Department, in addition to other members of the FBI’s JTTF. The JTTF includes officers and agents from a number of other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Auerhahn and Aloke S. Chakravarty of Ortiz’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit and Jeffrey Groharing, Trial Attorney with the Department’s National Security and Counter Terrorism Section.
http://www.investigativeproject.org/3351/massachusetts-man-convicted-of-terror-support
For The Record - The IPT Blog
“Massachusetts Man Convicted of Terror Support”
by IPT News • Dec 20, 2011 at 4:48 pm
SNIPPET: “A federal jury on Tuesday found Massachusetts resident Tarek Mehanna guilty on all counts in the latest homegrown terrorism conviction.
Mehanna was convicted of four terror-related charges and three charges of lying to authorities. The charges include conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida, providing material support to terrorists (and conspiracy to do so), conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, conspiracy to make false statements to the FBI, and two counts of making false statements.
Prosecutors say that Mehanna and two friends traveled to Yemen in 2004 to train at a terrorist camp with the ultimate goal of fighting U.S. soldiers in Iraq. After failing to find a camp, Mehanna returned to the United States where he launched his own al-Qaida “media wing,” translating and distributing online publications endorsing violent jihad.
“From his travel to Yemen to receive training to kill American soldiers to his material support for terrorism at home, Mr. Mehanna’s efforts to use and support violence followed no pre-defined path and knew no bounds,” said Boston FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers.
Mehanna’s father, Ahmed, said he was “stunned” by the verdict, which he saw as “political.””
http://www.investigativeproject.org/topics/52/muslim-public-affairs-council-mpac
#
http://www.investigativeproject.org/3544/mpac-reposts-pro-terrorist-article
“MPAC Reposts Pro-Terrorist Article”
IPT News
April 19, 2012
SNIPPET: “The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) reposted an article Wednesday suggesting that convicted terrorist Tarek Mehanna was just exercising his freedom of speech, and that Muslims have a right to kill American forces in Iraq. The article, linked from MPAC’s Facebook page and Twitter feed, echoes dozens of previous statements by the group, which has a history of rejecting terrorism convictions, justifying terrorist acts, and accusing America of fighting a politically-motivated campaign against Islam.”
http://www.investigativeproject.org/3681/cair-chicago-false-terror-equivalence
For The Record - The IPT Blog
“CAIR Chicago’s False Terror Equivalence”
by IPT News • Jul 17, 2012 at 4:58 pm
SNIPPET: “The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago chapter defended convicted terrorist Tarek Mehanna Tuesday, arguing his actions in a plot to kill American troops are akin to a report of American military training for a radical Iranian opposition group.
Mehanna was sentenced in April to 17½ years in federal prison after being convicted of conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaida, conspiracy to murder in a foreign country, lying to the FBI and providing material support to terrorists. The charges stem from a plot to kill American soldiers overseas.
To CAIR-Chicago, it’s another example of law enforcement’s unjust treatment of American Muslims, In an article by an intern posted on its website and distributed to its email list, CAIR cast Mehanna as a victim of FBI surveillance and harassment who was simply exercising his right of free speech.
He launched his own al-Qaida “media wing” espousing violent jihad and published translations of al-Qaida materials including 39 Ways to Serve and Participate in Jihad and the Expedition of Umar Hadid.
“So were Mehanna’s online posts ‘material support for terrorism’ or was he just using his first amendment right to voice his opinions?” the article asks. “Mehanna was sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison, and it’s suspect that his being Muslim had something to do with his indictment.”
To accept the argument would mean the jury and presiding judge were duped.”
Quote:
twitter.com/intelwire/status/262732486012964864
J.M. Berger
@intelwire
The Boston Anarchist Book Fair Nov 9-11 will feature a workshop unironically celebrating Tarek Mehanna.
RETWEETS
6:48 PM - 28 Oct 12