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In Virginia Beach they're into jury selection in the capital murder trial of John Muhammad, one of two implicated in the sniper shootings that terrorized the D.C. area south to Richmond a year ago. The trial may last two months. The trial of his alleged young accomplice, Lee Malvo, is set to begin later in nearby Chesapeake. Muhammad, who has pleaded not guilty, may be found innocent. But circumstantial evidence of his involvement abounds. In the realm of motive — if Muhammad participated in or helped plan the sniper shootings, why? — the principal piece of evidence, apparently carrying telltale...

On September 11th, 2002, suspected Sniper John Allen Muhammad walked into the Camden, New Jersey State Motor Vehicles office, to register the now-notorious "blue Caprice" he'd just purchased. Though the car had not yet converted been into a rolling sniper's nest, what happened in the next several minutes leaves little doubt that Muhammad had something sinister in mind. The registration transaction began at 8:52 am. At 8:58 am., while Muhammad was still standing at the counter, someone (now believed to be fellow suspect, Lee Malvo) phoned a bomb threat at the Motor Vehicles office on the 1st Anniversary of what...

A Junior al-Qaeda . . .: . . . right here at home There are a lot of Baptist churches along rural Virginia's Route 615, just south of Appomattox-"where America reunited," as the county welcome sign puts it-but there's only one Sheikh Gilani Lane. A gate and a guardhouse prevent the public from driving very far down it. What lies beyond, however, isn't a closed-off community of rich retirees. Instead, it's a trailer-park compound of black Muslims, or "The Muslims of America," according to a green billboard by the entrance, where an armed guard keeps a wary eye on the ...

 DefenseWatch  "The Voice of the Grunt"  Special Report: Protect Home Base First  ARTICLE 02 October 30, 2002Examine Gunman's Possible Ties to al FurqaBy Christian M. WeberIn the Middle East today, we see a young generation of Muslims being trained to hate Israel and the West while cherishing the thought of martyrdom. It is easy to see the brutal path that has been chosen for these children. However, for those not schooled in this path of destruction, the road to terrorism usually takes on one of two forms.The first form includes Islamic extremists, such as Osama Bin Laden, who rose...

Al-Fuqra Holy Warriors of Terrorism Introduction For over ten years, a secretive Black Muslim sect in the United States and Canada has sought to carry out a self-declared policy of "jihad," or holy war, by taking violent action against its perceived enemies, generally other minorities or other Muslims with whom they disagree. The sect, known as Al-Fuqra, has been linked by law enforcement officials to terrorist violence in Colorado, Arizona, Pennsylvania, the Pacific-northwest and Canada. Most recently, attention has been focused on the group in connection with a plot to bomb public sites in New York, including the United Nations,...

Al-Fuqra tied to Colorado crimes Leader owned land in Buena Vista; followers convicted in bombing of Krishna temple By Charlie Brennan, News Staff Writer The radical Islamic leader linked to the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl has been tied to a wide range of illegal activity throughout Colorado. Through a broad-based investigation launched in 1989, Colorado authorities convicted four members of the al-Fuqra movement on a series of felonies including racketeering, forgery, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and the 1984 firebombing of a Hare Krishna temple in Denver. Those who helped lead those investigations said the Pakistani-based ...

Federal authorities are investigating whether accused snipers John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo had ties to a growing sect of militant American Muslims committed to waging holy war against the United States. Law-enforcement authorities yesterday said investigators want to know whether the suspects — now awaiting separate murder trials in Virginia — were involved with Jamaat al-Fuqra, a militant Muslim group with documented ties to international terrorism that has been linked to 13 slayings and 17 firebombings in the United States and Canada. The al-Fuqra network, through an offshoot group known as the Muslims of America, has established a...

Sniper suspect John Muhammad fits the profile of a disaffected outcast who becomes increasingly radicalized under the influence of Islamism, say terrorism analysts and investigators, who suspect he is connected with the radical Islamist group, al-Fuqra. According to Christian M. Weber, contributing editor for Soldiers for the Truth, an organization headed by Col. David Hackworth, Muhammad seems to follow the model of John Walker Lindh, Richard Reid and Jose Padilla, men exposed to Islamism who become disenchanted with the movement's pace and progress and who take the road to jihad. "As one traces John Muhammad's life from his conversion to...

<p>THERE are a lot of Baptist churches along rural Virginia's Route 615, just south of Appomattox - "where America reunited," as the county welcome signs put it - but there's only one Sheikh Gilani Lane. A gate and a guardhouse prevent the public from driving down it. What lies beyond is a trailer-park compound of black Muslims.</p>

US sniper 'linked to terror cult' By James Langton in New York, Evening Standard 14 October 2003 Evidence has emerged linking Washington sniper John Allen Muhammad with an Islamic terror group. Muhammad has been connected to Al Fuqra, a cult devoted to spiritual purification through violence. The group has been linked to British shoe bomber Richard Reid and the murderers of American journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan last year. Muhammad today stands trial for murder after bringing terror to America's suburbs along with a 17-year-old accomplice, Lee Malvo. Until now many believed that the killing spree, which left 10 dead,...

Al-Qaida's operational approaches Posted: October 4, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Tom Marzullo © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Have you ever wondered how the dispersed terrorist groups manage to operate so discretely and persistently in the West? In considering the unconventional nature of al-Qaida and the other groups aligned against us, it can be immediately noted that the larger, more spectacular attacks are few and far between. What follows is an analysis and discussion of only one of the methodologies used to create major attacks that will be mounted against the United States. If you read one of the recent revelations that...

Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. Suspect confesses links to shoe-bomber By ELIZABETH BRYANT, United Press International United Press International February 10, 2002, Sunday 10:00 AM Eastern Time PARIS, Feb. 10 A man arrested in France last week for allegedly planning a terrorist attack on a French cathedral has reportedly confessed to having met two prominent terrorist suspects at the same Afghan training camp in 2000: Zacarias Moussaoui and shoe-bomber Richard Reid. Yacine Aknouche, 27, also told French investigators he met suspected terrorist Ahmed Ressam during another stint in ...

Paris, Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Richard Reid, the man accused of trying to ignite explosives hidden in his shoes on an American Airlines Inc. flight last month, had support across Europe, Agence France-Presse said, citing a source close to the investigation. Investigators found emails sent by Reid to various European destinations, the news agency reported. French police seized hard drives from the Happy Call Internet cafe in Paris, which Reid visited before boarding a Paris-Miami flight on Dec. 22, AFP said. In several emails, Reid called himself a ``martyr for the Islamic cause,'' AFP said, citing French regional newspaper ...

Was Richard Reid, the Briton indicted this week on charges of attempted murder -- after failing to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami on Dec. 22 -- the first shoe bomber? DEBKA-Net-Weekly reports a spreading conviction among aviation and counter-terror experts that he was Shoe Bomber No. 2, and that American Airlines Flight 587 was brought down 40 days earlier over Queens, N.Y., by Shoe Bomber No. 1. Their argument springs from a simple question: Why did not Reid simply lock himself in the bathroom and ignite the fuse to the bomb without risk of interference? ...

FBI agents are investigating the possibility that the shoe bomber Richard Reid was trying to mark the anniversary of the Lockerbie bombing with a suicide attack. He first tried to board a Paris to Miami flight on Friday, Dec 21, the 13th anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people in 1988. But it was not until 24 hours later that he managed to get a flight on the American Airlines service carrying 197 people. The 28-year-old Briton tried to bring down the airliner with a highly volatile explosive that could have gone off at ...

<p>January 20, 2002 -- Accused shoe bomber Richard Reid allegedly sent an e-mail to supporters across Europe in which he revealed his plan to blow up a Paris-to-Miami airliner and die a "martyr in the cause of Islam."</p> <p>The 28-year-old Briton asked that his note be published after the mission succeeded, French news reports said.</p>

The alleged "shoe bomber" Richard Reid bought material for explosive devices from a dealer he found on the internet and built them into "trainer bombs" himself, it was claimed today. The 28-year-old told the FBI he spent $1,500 (£1000) on the plastic-explosives component PETN during a visit to Amsterdam just days before he allegedly tried to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami, according to Agence France Presse. Dutch secret service spokesman Vincent van Steen confirmed that it was "very probable" Mr Reid was in the country's capital recently. Meanwhile there were reports today that US government ...

Airline 'shoe' terrorist converted to Islam in jail His mosque in Brixton fears al-Qaeda links THE man accused of smuggling bombs concealed in his shoes on to an American aircraft is a small-time British criminal who converted to Islam behind bars. A possible link to Osama bin Laden emerged when The Times discovered that the alleged bomber, Richard Reid, 28, who was identified by British police from fingerprints sent by the FBI, was a worshipper at a London mosque also attended by one of the suspected conspirators of September 11. The leader of Brixton Mosque in South London said that ...

<p>December 26, 2001 -- The "shoe bomber" who tried to blow up an American Airlines jet was once a member of an extremist Islamic group with suspected ties to Osama bin Laden - but quit because it wasn't radical enough, a report said yesterday.</p>

ARACHI, Pakistan — The nursery where they killed him, one year on, is oddly peaceful. Lush mango, palm and pomegranate trees are in bloom, their thick, green leaves whispering in a gentle breeze.The cinder-block storehouse where he was executed is empty, save for some flower pots, a cot and crumpled packs of cigarettes strewn across the floor. The 10-foot by 15-foot main room still has a metal door and metal shutters that can be padlocked. Sounds of life reach the room: birds chirping and cars driving past to a nearby religious school run by Al Rashid Trust, an organization...

Judge William Young's Closing Comments To Shoe Bomber Richard Reid Back to News/Home Page News Archives US District Court Judge William Young made the following statement in sentencing "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to prison. It is noteworthy, and deserves to be remembered far longer than he predicts. I commend it to you and to anyone you might wish to forward it to. January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid. Judge Young: Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you. On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in...

Hey, gang! Just got this in an email from my husband at work. He said he just got it from an old AF buddy in Virginia who it it from...? Anyway, as they say, submitted for your approval: -------------------------------------------------- JUDGE WILLIAM YOUNG, SENTENCES THE SHOE BOMBER US District Court Judge William Young made the following statement in sentencing "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to prison. It is noteworthy, and deserves to be remembered far longer than he predicts. I commend it to you and anyone you might wish to forward it to. (I hope you will read every word! Pray for...

"You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist... and we do not negotiate with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice."- U.S. Judge Young, sentencing shoe-bomber Richard Reid. --------------------------------------------- Shoe-bomber Richard Reid, a British terrorist with links to the Pakistani secret service and Wahhabi Muslims, attempted to blow up an Air France trans-Atlantic flight in late 2001. U.S. District Court Judge William Young made the following statement while sentencing Reid to several life sentences earlier this year: "Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon...

We have made a paradise for terrorists in our own backyard By Alasdair Palmer (Filed: 04/05/2003) Everyone has been shocked by the discovery that Britain nurtured two suicide bombers of its own: Asif Hanif, who succeeded in blowing himself up in Israel, killing three others; and Omar Khan Sharif, who didn't - his bomb belt failed to explode - but who nevertheless evaded capture and is now on the run. And yet, in truth, no one should have been shocked. Last week's incident is not even the first example of Britons being involved in attempted suicide attacks. On the basis...

Ruling by Judge William Young U.S. District Court Judge William Young made the following statement in sentencing "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to prison. It is noteworthy, and deserves to be remembered far longer than he predicts. I commend it to you and to anyone you might wish to forward it to. January 30, 2003 United States vs. Reid. Judge Young: Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you. On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2,...

Ruling by Judge William Young U.S. District Court Judge William Young made the following statement in sentencing "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to prison. It is noteworthy, and deserves to be remembered far longer than he predicts. I commend it to you and to anyone you might wish to forward it to. January 30, 2003 United States vs. Reid. Judge Young: Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you. On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2,...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government charged American Airlines on Friday with discriminating against passengers perceived to be Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian or Muslim in its first racial bias complaint against an airline.The Transportation Department alleged that 10 people, mostly U.S. citizens, were removed from their flights or denied boarding even though they had tickets and passed security checks.Most of the incidents cited in the administrative complaint occurred within three months of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the department said.American said it would fight the charges and denied that passengers were discriminated against by its crew or the crew of American...

Richard Reid, the Al Qaeda follower who tried to blow up a transatlantic jetliner with explosives hidden in his shoes, was sentenced to life in prison yesterday by a judge who warned him: "We are not afraid ... we are Americans." The 29-year-old British citizen cried, "You will be judged by Allah!" before being dragged from the courtroom in handcuffs. Minutes before sentencing, Reid told the court he was unapologetic for his actions because he was "at war" with the United States. U.S. District Judge William Young pointed to the American flag behind him and said: "You see that flag,...

Top Stories - AP Shoe Bomb Suspect Sentencing Hearing Set By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press Writer BOSTON - To prosecutors, Richard Reid is a terrorist who shows no remorse for trying to blow up a jetliner with 197 people aboard. Defense lawyers contend he is a troubled man who was trying to defend his religion. AP Photo The arguments were expected to play out on Thursday at the sentencing of Reid, who admitted attempting to blow up the Miami-bound American Airlines jet by using explosives packed inside his shoes. He faces 60 years to life in prison. U.S. District...

ST JOHN'S, Antigua -- When two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents begin their probe in Antigua, they will be exploring if there were any links between US sniper suspect, John Allen Muhammad, and the man known as the shoe bomber, Richard Reid, a source close to the investigation revealed last night. Special agents John Groesher and Norman Embry arrived in St John's yesterday and will meet with Truehart Smith, Antigua's police commissioner, this morning to work out the parameters of the investigation. Attorney-General Gretel Thom, who set up a four-man team to investigate how Muhammad obtained an Antiguan passport...

RICHARD REID, the British shoe-bomber who yesterday admitted trying to blow up a transatlantic airliner, is still refusing to divulge his terrorist links in Britain. His guilty plea yesterday at a Boston court meant that he was not questioned about who first recruited him in the UK, nor who planned and funded his attempt to blow up a packed passenger airliner. Intelligence chiefs in Europe fear these questions will never be answered. Investigators are sure that he was not operating alone, but British detectives have not been allowed to question 29-year-old Reid about how he went from being a petty...

BOSTON (AP) — The man accused of trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes plans to plead guilty to all eight charges against him, his lawyer said Wednesday. Attorney Owen Walker said Richard Reid wanted to avoid the publicity of a trial and the negative impact it would have on his family. Reid, a British citizen, is accused of attempting to kill the 197 passengers and crew members aboard an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami on Dec. 22. He was overpowered by flight attendants and passengers, and the flight was diverted to...

Today's editorial pages are giddy with delight at the plea agreement reached yesterday in the John Walker Lindh case. Lindh agreed to plead guilty to two charges—aiding the Taliban and carrying explosives while doing so. The bargain was good for everyone. The government dropped all the serious charges, including its claim that Lindh had anything to do with the death of Mike Spann, the CIA officer killed in the prison uprising at Mazar-e-Sharif on Nov. 25. Lindh gets more jail time than the flimsy evidence against him warranted, and the government is spared an embarrassing trial and ugly disclosures about...

BLY, Ore. — This hard-knocks hamlet seems an unlikely place to search for clues to the al-Qaida terrorist network. It sits on an arid plateau in Southern Oregon, about 50 miles east of Klamath Falls. With a population of about 250, it has a couple of cafes and small stores, an antique shop, and the razed foundation of an abandoned lumber mill. But in late 1999, federal authorities and other sources say, the area had something far more unusual: militant Muslims scouting a ranch outside of town as a possible training camp for jihad fighters. That aborted effort has now...

PARIS, Jun 12, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- French anti-terrorist police took five people into custody on Wednesday in connection with the investigation into suspected shoe bomber Richard C. Reid, police said. The suspects, believed to have sympathies with radical Islam, were rounded up in the Paris suburbs, the police officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Police were acting on an order from Parisian anti-terrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere. During searches in the suburbs of Mantes-la-Jolie and Evry, police found three guns, one of them with a scope. The suspects, two Pakistanis and three North Africans, were being questioned...

THE man suspected of trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with a bomb in his shoe told his mother that he had a duty as a Muslim to "help remove repressive American forces", according to court documents released yesterday. The documents also say that Richard Reid "was not unassisted in his efforts to destroy Flight 63". Reid was ruled out as the source of a human hair and palm print found in the bombs, the documents say. FBI Director Robert Mueller said during the week the FBI now believed that "an Al-Qaeda bomb maker" constructed the shoe bomb. The...

Police and security agents on Wednesday were questioning five Pakistanis arrested in Paris and its suburbs in connection with the investigation into shoe bomber Richard C. Reid, judicial officials said. The suspects were arrested Wednesday morning, the officials said on condition of anonymity. They are suspected of providing various kinds of logistical assistance to Reid, 28, a British citizen, during his stay in Paris. The investigation is being headed by France's top anti-terrorism judge, Jean-Louis Bruguiere. Reid has been in U.S. custody since Dec. 22, when he allegedly attempted to ignite the explosives in his shoes during a trans-Atlantic flight...

WASHINGTON: British shoebomber suspect Richard Reid, who was overpowered when trying to blow up a plane from Paris, may have undertaken his last mission on instructions from someone in Pakistani city of Peshawar, according to French investigators. Reid, a convert to Islam, had taken "training classes" in Pakistan sometime in 1999. It is unclear how long he remained in Pakistan but he was back in London last July, media reports quoted the French investigators as saying. Reid then went to Amsterdam and applied for a new passport at the British Embassy there, declaring that he had accidentally put his previous...