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Yet more on the Ohio arrests
The men pleaded "Not Guilty" today in federal court. Some details from Toledo's WTOL (tip to reporter Alan Baker):In count 1 of the indictment, prosecutors say the three met together many times, going back as far as November 2005. The three reportedly conspired to recruit and train others for a violent jihad against United States forces and US allies in Iraq. They also reportedly put together the funding needed for the operation, and collected the equipment needed. Prosecutors also say the three communicated by computer with an individual in the Middle East, passing information about potential attacks and terrorist training materials back and forth, as well as communication about potential weapons and targets. In count 2, the grand jury found that the three had similar plans to kill US citizens abroad in addition to service members. The last two counts in the indictment dealt specifically with Mohammad Zaki Amawi. One count said Amawi distributed information on bomb-making, which in itself is a federal crime. The final two counts of the indictment say that on or about October 14, 2004, and March 15, 2005, Mohammad Zaki Amawi knowingly and willingly verbally threatened President Bush to another person. AG Gonzales at a press conference today (see DOJ release of his prepared remarks here): The defendants learned to use plastic and nitro explosives. They sent money to Iraq and used a business and a charity to further support co-conspirators in Iraq and cover their travel overseas. FBI Deputy Director John Pistole credited "improved information sharing and intel-gathering techniques." AG Gonzales would not state whether the NSA surveillance program was responsible for indictment information and didn't name the Iraqi terrorist group(s) which the defendants allegedly supported. AG Gonzales also refused to state whether one defendant was arrested in Jordan or even where they were arrested. This last tidbit is definitely worth pursuing. Evan Kohlmann emailed me that the indictment mentions "a specific suicide bomb vest video that these folks were using to prepare themselves... I have excerpts of the video posted on my website from last year" - see here on his site. Fox News reports that "respected member of the Muslim community" was responsible for assistance in this case. The Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District confirmed only that information came from the area, including the person referred to as the "trainer" in the area (whom Fox News credited as the "respected Muslim"). Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-02-22 |
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