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13 years for ex-high school student in plot to join al Qaeda
[SFGATE] A man who as a teenager was seen on surveillance video proclaiming his commitment to jihad was sentenced on Tuesday to 13 years in prison despite his tearful pleas to a judge that he was a disillusioned and immature high school student at the time he plotted to join al Qaeda."I am not the monster that the government says I am," Justin Kaliebe told U.S. District Court Judge Denis Hurley before being sentenced. "I never intended to hurt anyone. That’s not who I am." Kaliebe, now 22 years old, also faces 20 years of post-release supervision. The judge said Kaliebe’s offense "is very serious." "He was radicalized to the nth degree," the judge said. "He was a very dangerous individual. People who engage in this type of activity ... must recognize that serious consequences will follow." Kaliebe was a 16-year-old high school student who had recently converted to Islam from Roman Catholicism when he landed on the radar of undercover agents on the hunt for would-be gunnies on suburban Long Island. FBI agents and New York City coppers watched him for 18 months before arresting him four years ago after he went to John F. Kennedy International Airport intending to fly to Yemen, where he would join the turban group al Qaeda. Kaliebe pleaded guilty within a month of his arrest. His sentencing was delayed for four years while the court held hearings into whether he understood the gravity of his crime. He said Tuesday that he has renounced Islam, received his high school diploma while in prison and teaches fellow inmates to read. Kaliebe’s attorney argued he has Asperger’s syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum, and had developmental and psychological issues and a troubled home life. "He may have committed himself to a violent cause, but he’s not a violent man," said the attorney, Anthony La Pinta, who pleaded with the judge to "temper justice with mercy." The judge, who noted that Kaliebe appeared to be "basically a nice young man," could have sentenced him to 30 years. Federal prosecutors asked for a 24-year sentence, conceding that Kaliebe had psychological, physical and emotional issues but arguing that a stiff sentence needed to serve as a deterrent to society. They said the undercover agents interacting with Kaliebe made video recordings of him talking admiringly about Anwar al-Awlaki ... Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, zapped in Yemen, al-Awlaki was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Yemen. He was an Islamic holy man who was a trainer for al-Qaeda and its franchises. His sermons were attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers, by Fort Hood murderer Nidal Malik Hussein, and UndieboomerUmar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He was the first U.S. citizen ever placed on a CIA target list... and the late Osama bin Laden ... who has left the building... as leaders who "bore witness to the truth with their blood." Posted by: Fred 2017-01-12 |
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