Note: The following text is a quote:
http://boston.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/bs102109a.htm
Massachusetts Man Charged with Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to Terrorists
BOSTON—A Sudbury, Mass., man was charged today in federal court with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael K. Loucks and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI - Boston Field Division, announced today that Tarek Mehanna, 27, of 6 Fairhaven Circle, Sudbury, Mass., was charged in a complaint with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.
The complaint alleges that, beginning in or about 2001 and continuing until in or about May 2008, Mehanna conspired with Ahmad Abousamra, and others to provide material support and resources for use in carrying out a conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure persons or damage property in a foreign country and extraterritorial homicide of a U.S. national.
Specifically, the complaint affidavit alleges that Mehanna and coconspirators discussed their desire to participate in violent jihad against American interests and that they would talk about fighting jihad and their desire to die on the battlefield. The complaint further alleges that the coconspirators attempted to radicalize others and inspire each other by, among other things, watching and distributing jihadi videos. It is alleged that, among other things, 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. The complaint also alleges that one of Mehanna’s coconspirators made two similar trips to Pakistan in 2002.
According to the complaint affidavit, Mehanna and the coconspirators had multiple conversations about obtaining automatic weapons and randomly shooting people in a shopping mall, and that the conversations went so far as to discuss the logistics of a mall attack, including coordination, weapons needed and the possibility of attacking emergency responders. It is alleged that the plan was ultimately abandoned, because of their inability to obtain the automatic weapons they deemed necessary to effectively carry out the attacks.
Mehanna was previously indicted in January 2009 for making false statements to members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI in connection with a terrorism investigation.
If convicted on the material support charge, Mehanna faces up to 15 years in prison, to be followed by 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, Massachusetts State Police and the Lowell Police Department, in addition to other members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. The JTTF includes officers and agents from a number of other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Auerhahn and Aloke S. Chakravarty of Loucks’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit.
The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367912/posts
Mass. terror suspect taught kids at Muslim school
ap ^ | Oct 21,2009 | By DENISE LAVOIE
Posted on October 21, 2009 3:58:30 PM PDT by Flavius
The Massachusetts man charged with conspiring in a terror plot has been a middle school math and religion teacher at a Muslim school in Worcester.
Colleagues at the Alhuda Academy say they cannot believe the allegations against Tarek Mehanna (TEH’-rek meh-HAH’-nah), who was arrested Wednesday and charged in conspiring to support terrorism. They say he was a sweet guy and loved by his students.
But prosecutors say Mehanna and his associates sought training at terrorist camps and discussed plans to target U.S. troops in Iraq and two politicians and to randomly shoot shoppers at U.S. malls.
(Excerpt) Read more at kdwn.com ...
Blog:
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/199314.php
October 21, 2009
“Terror Arrest In Boston (UPDATED, BUMPED: Blogger Arrested)”
SNIPPET: “UPDATE: Confirmed, this is Terek Mehanna. But there’s a second man involved in this plot named Ahmad Abousamra. Others involved go unnamed.”
By Howie at October 21, 2009 11:11 AM
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Previously...
stepping back in time...
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/194914.php
November 12, 2008
“Arrested Blogger Identified: Tarek Mehanna
UPDATE 10/21/2009: Mehanna arrested again! This time for plotting terror on US soil.”
SNIPPET: “——Begin original post——
The al Qaeda supporter and blogger arrested by the FBI earlier this week has been identified as Tarek Mehanna. Mehanna was arrested as he attempted to leave the country on charges that he had lied to the FBI about prior knowledge of another Muslim blogger’s, Daniel “Al-Jughaifi” Maldanado, plans to travel from Egypt to Somalia to join the jihad. Maldanado is now in federal prison after being convicted of receiving specialized weapons training from an al Qaeda linked group in Somalia.
Like clockwork, Mehanna’s family defends him as a nice boy who just completed his graduate work to become a pharmacist. What his family may or may not know is that Mehanna goes by the online handle “Abu Sayaba” and runs the “Iskandari” website which is devoted to promoting the Salafi ideology.
For instance, Tarek “Abu Sayaba” Mehanna has, literally, dozens of posts recounting the words of Abdullah Azzam, the intellectual backbone of al Qaeda. Also among his favorite authors are Sayyid Qutb.
In addition to friends like Maldanado who has been convicted on terrorism related charges, Mehanna’s online buddies include:
Shades of Swords, who glorifies the executed Bali bombers as martyrs.
Inshallahshaheed, who we have an entire category devoted to and who claims he personally doesn’t go off to fight the jihad because “it’s hard” and who recently has set up his own media division in support of terrorist organizations.
Jihad Fields Are Calling, who’s name pretty much sums it up.
And so on and so forth. In other words, the people he associated himself with online are either a) actively engaged in violent jihad; or b) actively engaged in supporting violent jihad through the distribution of terrorist propaganda.
You can bet that the FBI arrest on relatively minor charges was taken because there was a reasonable fear that Mehanna was leaving the country to join or further support the jihad himself. His friend Maldanado had also left the country to pursue “religious studies” in Egypt, but ended up in an al Qaeda linked training camp in Somalia.
If any one finds a picture of him, please pass it along. Thanks to Miss Kelly.
Above the fold update: Aaron provides handy box score for FOS (Friends of Sasjamal).”
By Rusty at November 12, 2008 10:44 AM | Comments (9) | Trackback l digg this
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stepping back in time...
http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/006439.html
12 November 2008
“ANOTHER CYBERSPACE/MEATSPACE CONVERGENCE”
SNIPPET: “Rusty Shackelford, PhD., credits Samir Khan with the first report of the arrest of Abu Sayaba, proprietor of the “iskandrani” blog, by the FBI in Boston. This corresponds to the arrest of Tarek Mehanna, age 26, on charges of lying to FBI agents when questioned two years ago about his friend and now-convicted terrorist Daniel Joseph Maldonado. Mehanna was about to leave the USA for Saudi Arabia, which evidently prompted the unsealing of his indictment.”
ON THE INTERNET:
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368802/posts
Neighbors, Friends Surprised At Terror Arrest
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/mostpopular/21389465/detail.html ^
Posted on October 22, 2009 3:49:22 PM PDT by traumer
BOSTON — People who know the friendly Muslim family that has lived in Sudbury for the past six or seven years, where the mother even provides day care out of the home, simply cannot believe it.
Tarek Mehanna, 27, the son of a well-liked Boston pharmacology professor, was arrested by federal officials at his parents’ sumptuous suburban home Wednesday, accused of lying about trips to the Middle East to seek terrorist training and plotting to attack Americans in a U.S. shopping mall.
At his federal court appearance on the charges, Mehanna briefly refused to stand for the judge and tossed a chair to the floor. His father said his son is upset by the accusations.
“My son is very nervous, because that is all fabrication in his eyes,” his father Ahmed Mehanna said.
“He is a very good guy. He’s very innocent,” Mehanna’s mother Saoud said.
(Excerpt) Read more at thebostonchannel.com ...
Additional 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
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.”
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...