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Youssef Megahed was freed this evening after a judge dismissed the deportation case against the former University of South Florida student. Megahed was driven out of a detention facility by his father about 6:30 p.m. He is expected to return home to Tampa on Saturday. "I'm very happy for this," Megahed said, smiling and surrounded by his family. "This was the only correct decision the judge could have given." He said he wants to return to USF to take the remaining class he needs for his engineering degree. Megahed said he holds no bitterness toward the government but described his...

SNIPPET: “Youssef Megahed, a permanent resident alien of the United States, was in immigration court in Miami last week. According to published reports, Megahed faced deportation based on terrorism charges stemming from much publicized arrest in South Carolina in 2007 along with his friend Ahmed Mohamed. After a five-day hearing before Immigration Judge Kenneth Hurewitz, however, the deportation case against Mr. Megahed was terminated because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) failed to prove its case. The question the American public should be asking is “Why?””

Youssef Megahed, fresh off being acquitted by a federal jury on explosives charge, was shopping with his father, Samir, Monday..."We were surrounded by men...," said Samir. "They did not allow me to talk to Youssef...Then Youssef was whisked away... Megahed...was arrested on an immigration warrant, according to his attorney...agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made the arrest. "Mr. Megahed has been placed into removal proceedings and is being held in ICE custody pending the outcome of his case," said James P. Judge, local ICE spokesman.... Allen said he thinks Megahed will be taken from Tampa to ICE's Krome...

Twenty months after a traffic stop in Goose Creek, S.C., catapulted two University of South Florida students into a federal explosives case that raised the specter of terrorism, one of those students has been set free by a panel of 12 jurors. Youssef Megahed, 23, is not guilty, the jury said. Not guilty of illegally transporting explosives materials. Not guilty of possessing a destructive device.

Ahmed Mohamed, one half of the Goose Creek two, received the maximum sentence yesterday for creating a jihad video that was to be used by Muslim “martyrs” fighting American soldiers in Arab countries. He and his apologists still insist on painting Mohamed as a regular college guy. The judge didn’t buy it. Good: ~~~ Former University of South Florida student Ahmed Mohamed received a maximum 15-year federal prison sentence Thursday for providing material support to terrorists. In court, U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday pondered the 27-year-old’s potential aloud, gazing at the former engineering doctoral student and teaching assistant who...

When two Muslim students were arrested late last year in South Carolina CAIR called it racial and religious profiling. Well the judge has called it terrorism and has sentenced one of them to 15 years in jail.

TAMPA -- Former University of South Florida student Ahmed Mohamed got a 15-year sentence today for providing material support to terrorism. "I still wonder why this young man in front of me at his age, at his intelligence, how he has become committed to this path," said U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday, who gave Mohamed, 27, the harshest penalty allowed by law

Remember Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, one half of the Muslim duo caught driving on an obscure highway near Goose Creek, South Carolina in the middle of the night, with pipe bombs, laptops, and Korans, back in August of last year? The claimed it was "just fireworks" and that they were going to spend a weekend grilling or something. Yup, "grilling" Americans. They were driving near a military installation which stores nuclear weapons and held terrorist enemy combatants. With the Yemeni Mohamed was Yousef Megahed, an Egyptian. They both smiled in their mugshots and in court proceedings. "Just Fireworks" Terrorist Ahmed...

Former University of South Florida engineering student Ahmed Mohamed agreed Friday to plead guilty to a federal charge of providing material support to terrorists. For their part, prosecutors plan to drop six other charges against Mohamed, 26, when he is sentenced. Among the counts to be dropped are charges of illegally transporting explosive material, possessing an unregistered destructive device, and a student visa violation for possessing a firearm. "This plea agreement was at the request of our client after a very long and agonizing decision by both him and his family, and it was his decision to resolve this matter...

The Hunt for American al Qaeda The United States is turning up the heat in the hunt for the California boy turned al Qaeda operative, Adam Gadahn, who has been charged with treason and is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. If caught and convicted, Gadahn could face the death penalty. The State Department along with the Department of Diplomatic Security announced the beginning of a publicity campaign in Afghanistan urging locals to provide any information on Gadahn's whereabouts, with a reward if the information leads to his capture. Radio advertisements with information concerning the $1 million reward have...

Charleston, SC (AHN) - A 10-year-old South Carolina boy died of "drowning" several hours after he was on dry ground, a coroner's report has found. Johnny Jackson died of "dry drowning," a form of asphyxiation that happens when a small amount of water gets into the lungs and damages tissue, causing the lungs to swell and fill up with water. The boy's mother, Cassandra Jackson, said Johnny went swimming in a local pool at Goose Greek on Sunday. Though the child didn't show any signs of respiratory distress, he "soiled himself," NBC News reported. He walked home with his mother...

TAMPA – The explosives trial of a former University of South Florida student will likely be put on hold after prosecutors appealed a judge's evidence ruling this afternoon. A judge ruled today that prosecutors may not use certain evidence in the trial, which had been scheduled to start Monday, of a former University of South Florida student accused of transporting explosives. Ruling in the case of Youssef Megahed, Judge Steven D. Merryday said prosecutors had missed a court deadline for sharing evidence with the defense and barred the government from using files taken from the Megahed family home computer. Late...

After Youssef Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed were arrested in South Carolina, deputies recorded the men talking to each other in Arabic in the back of a patrol car. Megahed's attorneys want a judge to limit the use of the recording at the men's upcoming trial, arguing that the recording largely is unintelligible. Consequently, they argue, transcripts of translations of the conversations are so limited that any comments that are intelligible are out of context. Megahed and Mohamed were arrested Aug. 4 after deputies found pipe bombs in the trunk of their car, authorities said. The defense has filed different transcripts...

Twelve days before they were scheduled to go on trial, two former University of South Florida students are facing new charges handed up by a federal grand jury. The new seven-count indictment adds terrorism and weapons charges against one of the defendants, Ahmed Mohamed. It also includes a new charge against Mohamed and Youssef Megahed relating to the devices found in the trunk of their car when they were arrested Aug. 4 in South Carolina. It replaces a two-count indictment handed up last year. Experts say the new indictment shows the prosecution trying to ensure success at trial by offering...

Afghanistan to Ask NATO for Bigger Army Afghan officials will go to the NATO summit in Romania Thursday with a request: pay to increase our national Army by 40 percent. A bigger Army, Afghan officials argue, will allow the US and other coalition members to scale back in the coming years. This appeal comes amid pleas from the US and Canada for other NATO members to commit more to the Afghanistan mission, which many analysts say has floundered over the past year for lack of resources and a coherent strategy. France is expected to contribute another 1,000 forces and...

Two days before he was to graduate, a University of South Florida student was arrested Thursday on a weapons charge in connection with a case against two other students accused of transporting explosives. Karim Moussaoui, 28, went to a shooting range with the two other students, Youssef Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed, on July 11, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court. Moussaoui told the FBI he took pictures and didn't fire any weapons, the complaint states. Mohamed, 26, and Megahed, 21, both Egyptian nationals, were arrested in South Carolina on Aug. 4 and charged with having explosives in...

In the terrorism case of two young Egyptian nationals and University of South Florida students arrested August 4 in South Carolina, fascinating twists and turns abound. There’s a secret recording of the defendants discussing strategy shortly after their arrest. There’s a You Tube video in which one of the defendants gave instructions in Arabic on converting a remote-control toy into a bomb detonator, which one defendant allegedly told police was made to help people in Arab countries “defend themselves against the infidels invading their countries,” specifically “against those who fought for the United States.” That’s not all. The father of...

TAMPA -- Youssef Megahed, detained by federal authorities on explosives charges, is revoking any permission he gave to government agents to search his home or anything else. Assistant Federal Public Defender Adam Allen, Megahed's attorney, filed a notice with the court today withdrawing any consent to search items taken from Megahed after his arrest on Aug. 4. "The filing of this notice is not an admission by the defendant that he has previously given voluntarily consent but is designed to put the government on legal notice that, to the extent the defendant has previously given any voluntary consent to search,...

TAMPA - Lawyer John Fitzgibbons notified a judge this morning that he officially is representing a University of South Florida student accused of helping terrorists. Fitzgibbons also notified the court that his client, Ahmed Mohamed, is pleading not guilty to charges of illegally transporting explosives and trying to help terrorists by teaching or demonstrating the use of explosives. Mohamed waived his right to an arraignment, entering the plea by mail. The high-profile lawyer's clients have included a teacher who had sex with a student, an "American Idol" contestant involved in a dispute at Hyde Park Café and a restaurant owner...

One of two Muslim USF students facing federal explosives charges continues to wait to be released on bond By 970WFLA.com Friday, October 5, 2007 TAMPA, Fla. (970 WFLA) – A federal judge will take his time on ruling whether or not one of two Muslim University of South Florida students will be allowed out on bail while awaiting trial on charges he transported explosives across state lines without a license. U.S. prosecutors filed appeal following a federal magistrate judge allowed Youseff Samir Megahed, 21, to be released on $200,000 bond. Megahed and his alleged co-conspirator, Ahmed Mohamed, were arrested in...

An odd video raises new questions about the USF students who caused a national security scare. Ahmed Mohamed and Yousef Megahed are already charged with driving explosives across state lines. Now prosecutors say Megahed's brother tried to send a sinister code through a jail-house camera.

As his son appeared in federal court on explosives charges, Samir Megahed struggled with the overwhelming strain of the prosecution and family problems. 'We're under big stress,' the 60-year-old said in a telephone interview. Megahed said he is recovering from a heart attack he suffered 11 days ago. 'I am good now,' he said. On Monday, he said, his 68-year-old brother died in Egypt. Samir Megahed is unable to travel to be with his brother's family because he is hoping his son, Youssef, will be released on bail. One of the conditions of a bail order is that the entire...

TAMPA - As his son appeared in federal court on explosives charges, Samir Megahed struggled with the overwhelming strain of the prosecution and family problems. 'We're under big stress,' the 60-year-old said in a telephone interview. Megahed said he is recovering from a heart attack he suffered 11 days ago. 'I am good now,' he said. On Monday, he said, his 68-year-old brother died in Egypt. Samir Megahed is unable to travel to be with his brother's family because he is hoping his son, Youssef, will be released on bail. One of the conditions of a bail order is that...

TAMPA, Fla. — Egypt's government is paying for the legal representation of a college student who authorities say was found with pipe bombs near a Navy base, an attorney said Wednesday. Attorney John Fitzgibbons told a judge he was in talks with the Egyptian embassy in Washington and likely will be hired to represent suspended University of South Florida student Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed. Ahmed el-Qawassni, an official in Egypt's foreign ministry, said the government is closely monitoring the case and confirmed that an attorney is being hired for Mohamed, who was born in Kuwait to Egyptian parents. "We are...

COLUMBIA, S.C. --A college student facing a terrorism-related charge made a video showing how to detonate explosives using a remote control toy, and the demonstration was uploaded to a popular Web site before the native of Kuwait was arrested in South Carolina, according to court documents.

In a 12-minute video posted on YouTube, an Egyptian man wearing a white shirt, khaki pants and rubber gloves explains in Arabic how to turn a toy boat into a bomb.

The plot thickens. Read the St. Petersburg Times: (Hat tip - reader Lynne) Well, well, well: PVC pipe filled with homemade “low-grade explosive mixture” and a videotape instruction for turning a remote-controlled toy car into a detonator were among the items found in the car driven by two University of South Florida students arrested in South Carolina and now facing federal explosives charges, according to a federal prosecutor. An assistant U.S Attorney outlined the evidence confiscated from the car driven by two suspended USF students — describing a container and three pipes filled with a low grade explosive mixture. The...

Prosecutors: USF students had explosive materials, instructions. TAMPA - Pipes stuffed with fertilizer, Karo syrup and kitty litter. Bullets and fuses. A laptop with Internet searches about martyrdom, Hamas and Qassam rockets. Video instructions for turning a child's toy into a detonator. After weeks of silence, the U.S. Attorney's Office opened up about its case against two University of South Florida engineering students facing explosives charges, implying that Youssef Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed had something sinister in mind when they left Tampa in early August and headed north. Despite the grim implications of what the government presented, prosecutors said they...

TAMPA -- PVC pipe filled with homemade "low-grade explosive mixture'' and a videotape instruction for turning a remote-controlled toy car into a detonator were among the items found in the car driven by two University of South Florida students arrested in South Carolina and now facing federal explosives charges, according to a federal prosecutor...The list also included a videotape that instructs viewers on how to convert a toy electric car into a detonator. Defendant Ahmed Mohamed has admitted making the tape, and in it he says he intended the instruction "to save one who wants to be a martyr for...

Charleston, S.C. (AP) -- With a federal indictment in place, state charges will be dismissed against two Egyptian-born students who were stopped last month with what authorities said were pipe bombs, a prosecutor said Tuesday. "I plan to dismiss the charges in favor of federal prosecution," said Scarlett Wilson, state prosecutor for Charleston and Berkeley counties. Ahmed Abda Sherf Mohamed, 24, and Yousef Samir Megahed, 21, both students at the University of South Florida in Tampa, were arrested on state charges of possession of an explosive device following an Aug. 5 traffic stop in Goose Creek.

Remember those two Egyptian "students" arrested in South Carolina back in early August for possessing what CAIR spokesman Ahmed Bedier claimed were fireworks but turned out to be pipe bombs according to state authorities?  They've now been indicted by the Justice Department in Florida.Ahmed Mohammed is charged with teaching and demonstrating how to use explosives in support of terrorism.  Both he and his sidekick, Youssef Megahed, are charged with transporting explosives across state lines.  They had already been charged in South Carolina with possessing pipe-bombs.  At the time of their arrest, they were in Goose Creek, about seven miles away...

  Indicted USF Student has Terror Past in Egypt by IPTIPT News August 31, 2007Two Egyptian students enrolled at the University of South Florida have been indicted for carrying explosive materials across states lines. One of the defendants also is charged with teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons.Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, an engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at the Tampa-based university, faces terrorism charges for teaching and demonstrating how to use the explosives.According to officials familiar with the case, Mohamed has been arrested previously in Egypt on terrorism-related charges. He is said to have...

Two Egyptian students at the University of South Florida were indicted Friday for carrying explosive materials across states lines and one of them was charged with teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons. Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, an engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at the Tampa-based university, faces terrorism charges for teaching and demonstrating how to use the explosives. He and Youssef Samir Megahed, 21, an engineering student, were stopped for speeding in Goose Creek, S.C., on Aug. 4, where they have been held on state charges. The two men were stopped with pipe bombs...

TAMPA - A federal grand jury in Tampa is asking for DNA and hair samples from a University of South Florida student jailed four weeks ago in South Carolina on explosives charges, his attorney said. Andrew Savage said in a phone interview Wednesday night that he had no indication why the samples were being sought from his client, Youssef Megahed. *snip* ...Megahed and Mohamed[,] were pulled over for speeding in South Carolina on Aug. 4 about seven miles from the Goose Creek Naval Weapons Station, which houses a military prison for enemy combatants. The men were charged with possession of...

I checked the title, and didn't find it posted. ~~~~~~~~~ Update: Yahia Megahed’s Hi5 profile is gone 6:20pm Eastern. Eeenteresting. Via Dan Riehl, Yahia Megahed’s Hi5 profile has now been removed: *** Last weekend, I noted the arrest of Yousef Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, 24, in the vicinity of the Naval Weapons Station, located in Goose Creek, South Carolina. National media scrutiny since the men were charged with possession of pipe bombs has been scant. Some MSM reports read like CAIR press releases. The AP dispatch carried in the Miami Herald concludes: “Some have suggested the men were targeted...

FBI agents are reviewing surveillance video from a Wal-Mart store in connection with the arrest in South Carolina of two University of South Florida students, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said. Agents also have seized a computer from the family home of one of the students, said a local advocate in contact with the family. Youssef Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, 24, both of whom are enrolled at the university, were charged Monday under South Carolina statutes with possession of an incendiary or explosive device. Both were being held in a Berkeley County jail Wednesday. Mohamed's bail was set at $500,000 and...

Washington - Local police outside Charleston, South Carolina stopped a vehicle in which they found what were suspected to be explosives, according to media reports late Saturday. Two men described as being of possibly Middle Eastern origin were in the vehicle, which was stopped on a highway. A police bomb squad was at the scene and preparing to examine the vehicle, a local television reported told the Cable News Network (CNN).

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. - A high school principal announced his resignation Monday after coming under fire over a November drug sweep in which police with guns drawn ordered students to the floor. "I realized it is in the best interest of Stratford High School and of my students for me to make a change," George McCrackin said in a statement. School officials asked Goose Creek police to come into the school Nov. 5 after receiving reports of marijuana sales on campus. Police said dogs sniffed drug residue on 12 book bags but found no drugs. No one was arrested. The...

CHARLESTON — The Goose Creek Police Department appears not to have followed its own rules on using drug dogs in its guns-drawn raid at Stratford High School last month. A videotape the Police Department released shows a police dog passing close by students who had been forced to kneel on the floor during the Nov. 5 raid. It also captures an officer lecturing students as that part of the raid ends. “If you’re an innocent bystander to what has transpired here today, you can thank those people that are bringing dope into this school. Every time we think there’s dope...