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Three Men Sentenced in Jihad Paintball Training Case
Three men accused of practicing military tactics at a paintball field outside Washington were sentenced to prison Friday for their roles in a Virginia jihad network that trained members to support a Pakistani terrorist group. Yong Ki Kwon and Khwaja Mahmood Hasan of Fairfax, Va., and Donald T. Surratt of Suitland, Md., pleaded guilty to conspiracy and gun charges in August. Humm, Mary Surratt from Maryland was convicted of complicity in Abraham Lincolnâs assassination and hanged, wonder if Donald is related? They were part of a group of 11 men accused of training at the paintball field to support Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Muslim extremist group trying to oust India from the disputed region of Kashmir. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema sentenced Hasan on Friday to 11 1/4 years in prison, Yong to 11 1/2 years, and Surratt to three years and 10 months. Hasan and Yong could have faced up to life in prison, while Surratt could have faced up to 15 years. "At best, what Hasan and Yong did in Pakistan was attempt to receive training. I donât see how this is giving service to an entity," Brinkema said, referring to the terrorist group. Huh? Seven of the other defendants were accused in September of training to eventually join al-Qaida and Taliban fighters against American troops in the Afghanistan war. During his plea hearing in August, Yong told Brinkema that the group possessed a variety of weapons and trained in secret so they wouldnât arouse suspicion. Well, that worked, NOT! Posted by: Steve 2003-11-07 |
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