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| Honor student pleads guilty in Jihad Jane plot | ||||||
| 2012-05-07 | ||||||
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Maryland honor student pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to help a Pennsylvania woman known as "Jihad Jane" plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist who had offended some Muslims. Mohammed Hassan Khalid, 18, is believed to be the youngest person ever charged with terrorism in a U.S. civilian court. He faces a sentence as high as 15 years in prison. Khalid, who moved with his family from Pakistan to suburban Baltimore in 2008, was a high school student who had been accepted on a full scholarship at prestigious Johns Hopkins University.
During a short hearing at the federal courthouse in Philadelphia, officials said, Khalid pleaded guilty to a single charge of providing material support to terrorists. Khalid's lawyer, Jeffrey Lindy of Philadelphia, said in an interview afterward: "This is saddest case I've ever been involved with in my career. He's a smart kid who understands what's happening. But how much can an 18-year-old brain comprehend about a life-altering experience like this?"
Khalid also communicated with one of the plot's alleged leaders, Ali Charaf Damache, an Algerian living in Ireland. Damache, who used the alias "Black Flag," is charged with conspiracy to provide material support for terrorists. He was arrested in 2010 in Ireland on an unrelated charge and the United States is seeking to extradite him on the American terror charges.
The FBI arrested Khalid in July, when he was still a juvenile, but the case was not unsealed until September, when he turned 18. Under the plea agreement, he faces adult charges. In a statement, Zane Memeger, the U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia, highlighted Khalid's youth. "This case has demonstrated that age is not a limiter to threats to our nation's security," Memeger said. "Regardless of a defendant's age or background, we are committed to keeping our communities and our country safe through the investigation and prosecution of violent extremist activity." Khalid was a legal U.S. resident, but, unlike his siblings and parents, he did not become a naturalized American citizen. As a result, Lindy said, Khalid is likely to be deported back to Pakistan after he finishes serving his U.S. sentence.
U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker in Philadelphia has not set a sentencing date for any of the defendants. | ||||||
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 nobody is claiming any sort of mental handicap on his behalf. His attorney has already claimed he is 18 years old. If THAT isn't a mental handicap, then nothing is. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2012-05-07 12:57 |
| #2 At eighteen he is old enough to work, to marry, to serve in the military, and to vote. Legally he is an adult. And, nobody is claiming any sort of mental handicap on his behalf. He comprehends just fine. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2012-05-07 09:04 |
| #1 "He's a smart kid who understands what's happening. But how much can an 18-year-old brain comprehend about a life-altering experience like this?" his attorney asked. Dunno, jerk. You people call him an honor student every chance you get. So he should be smart enough to figure out what going to jail means. |
| Posted by: American Delight 2012-05-07 07:26 |