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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...

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

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...

Petraeus: Al Qaida Trying to 'Come Back In' U.S. military officials said there will be no significant reduction in coalition troops in the Baghdad area as part of an effort to stop the Al Qaida offensive in northern Iraq. They said Al Qaida was trying to reenter Baghdad and reverse its losses in 2007. "Al Qaida is trying to come back in," U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus said. "We can feel it and see it, and what we're trying to do is rip out any roots before they can get deeply into the ground." Read More Militants Assert...

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...

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...

A laptop computer deputies found when they pulled over two University of South Florida students in South Carolina contained a video made by one of the men showing how to use a toy to detonate a bomb remotely, a federal prosecutor said Friday. On that video, the student, Ahmed Mohamed, said the detonator could "save one who wants to be a martyr for another day, another battle," ... The prosecutor said that video was posted by Mohamed on YouTube... Also on the laptop were "jihadi" images and footage of rockets used by Hamas... Hoffer disclosed the computer evidence Friday as...

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...

Tampa, Fl -- The lawyer from South Carolina that has represented the pair flew in to help the suspects find new council. He met with the family to come up with a strategy for the release of Youssef Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed. They were arrested in August for carrying explosives in their car. He predicts the government will fight hard to keep the men detained. He says had the men been of any other ethnicity they would have been ticket for speeding and continued on. Andy Savage, Attorney “The Justice Department now in these types of cases, no matter how...

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.

Temple Terrace, Florida - One week after USF students Youseff Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed made their first court appearance in South Carolina, authorities still haven't said exactly what material was in the trunk of Megahed's car. The students told deputies it was fireworks, the prosecutor called it a pipe bomb. But after visiting him in South Carolina, the Megahed family says they're even more convinced of his innocence. Mariam Megahed, Defendant’s Sister: “Youssef promised us he didn't have any bad intentions and once the true nature of the evidence is displayed, he will be exonerated.” On Sunday, real estate investor...

TEMPLE TERRACE - One of the University of South Florida students accused of carrying explosives in a car near a South Carolina naval base last week had planned to move into a home FBI investigators searched Saturday. But Noor Salhab, a Realtor who owns the house at 12402 Pampas Place, said Sunday that he had not yet performed a background check on Ahmed Mohamed or received a rent check from the graduate student.

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...

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (AP) -- Authorities say two Middle Eastern men arrested near a Navy base had several pipe bombs in their car. Authorities say 24-year-old Ahmed Abda Sherf Mohamed and 21-year-old Yousef Samir Megahed were charged Monday with possession of an incendiary device. An FBI spokeswoman says a joint state-federal investigation is under way to see if there was any terrorism connection but no link had been found yet. The Navy base is the site of a brig where enemy combatants have been held. According to an affidavit with his arrest warrant, Mohamed admitted he made the pipe bombs...

MONCKS CORNER — Two Florida students accused of having pipe bombs in the trunk of their car when they were pulled over in Goose Creek are "confused and scared," their attorney said Monday. Yousseff Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, 26, both Egyptian citizens, were calm and polite in Berkeley County bond court. They were charged Monday with carrying explosive devices, which is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The weekend arrest drew national attention, because the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig, a military prison where enemy combatants are held, and the Naval Weapons Station are nearby. An...