From: WVNS <ummyakoub@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 11:09 PM
Subject: [wvns] American Woman Indicted in Fishy Jihad Plot
To: wvns@yahoogroups.com
Pennsylvania Woman Indicted in Plot to Recruit Violent Jihadist Fighters and to Commit Murder Overseas
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/March/10-ag-238.html
FD Editor Note: I find it odd that the DoJ is suddenly concerned about "committing murder overseas" when the DoD is already doing that on a daily basis.
David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Michael L. Levy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, together with Janice K. Fedarcyk, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI in Philadelphia, today announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Colleen R. LaRose, aka "Fatima LaRose," aka "Jihad Jane," with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements to a government official and attempted identity theft.
The indictment charges that LaRose (an American citizen born in 1963 who resides in Montgomery County, Pa.) and five unindicted co-conspirators (located in South Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and the United States) recruited men on the Internet to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe, and recruited women on the Internet who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad.
The indictment further charges that LaRose and her unindicted co-conspirators used the Internet to establish relationships with one another and to communicate regarding their plans, which included martyring themselves, soliciting funds for terrorists, soliciting passports and avoiding travel restrictions (through the collection of passports and through marriage) in order to wage violent jihad. The indictment further charges that LaRose stole another individual's U.S. passport and transferred or attempted to transfer it in an effort to facilitate an act of international terrorism.
In addition, according to the indictment, LaRose received a direct order to kill a citizen and resident of Sweden, and to do so in a way that would frighten "the whole Kufar [non-believer] world." The indictment further charges that LaRose agreed to carry out her murder assignment, and that she and her co-conspirators discussed that her appearance and American citizenship would help her blend in while carrying out her plans. According to the indictment, LaRose traveled to Europe and tracked the intended target online in an effort to complete her task.
"Today's indictment, which alleges that a woman from suburban America agreed to carry out murder overseas and to provide material support to terrorists, underscores the evolving nature of the threat we face," said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division. "I applaud the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who worked on this important investigation."
"This case shows the use terrorists can and do make of the Internet," said U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy. "Colleen LaRose and five other individuals scattered across the globe are alleged to have used the Internet to form a conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism, culminating in a direct order to LaRose to commit murder overseas. LaRose – an American citizen whose appearance was considered to be an asset because it allowed her to blend in – is charged with using the Internet to recruit violent jihadist fighters and supporters, and to solicit passports and funding. It demonstrates yet another very real danger lurking on the Internet. This case also demonstrates that terrorists are looking for Americans to join them in their cause, and it shatters any lingering thought that we can spot a terrorist based on appearance."
"This case demonstrates that the FBI and our partners in the law enforcement and intelligence communities must continue to remain vigilant in the face of the threats that America faces, in whatever form those threats may present themselves or no matter how creative those who threaten us try to be," said Special Agent-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk of the Philadelphia Division of the FBI. "We must use all available technologies and techniques to root out potential threats and stop those who intend to harm us."
If convicted of the charges against her, LaRose faces a potential sentence of life in prison and a $1 million fine.
This case was investigated by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Jennifer Arbittier Williams, Assistant U.S. Attorney from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Matthew F. Blue, Trial Attorney from the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department's National Security Division.
The public is reminded that an indictment is an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Write to her at:
COLLEEN R LAROSE 61657-066
FDC PHILADELPHIA
FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER
P.O. BOX 562
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19105
===
Neighbor: LaRose seemed like `everyday housewife'
http://www.timesherald.com/articles/2010/03/10/news/doc4b9739864e679250761263.txt
PENNSBURG — According to neighbors of 427 Main St., Pennsburg, where Colleen LaRose reportedly lived for some time in 2009, there was nothing suspicious or out-of-the-ordinary about LaRose's appearance.
Renee Herbert, who resides in the Main Street building where LaRose lived, said she used to see LaRose sometimes when the two did laundry.
"Colleen looked like an everyday housewife," Herbert said of LaRose. Herbert described LaRose as a middle-aged white woman with blond hair.
Herbert said she didn't talk with LaRose often, only when the two were doing laundry or when they passed one another coming or going.
"Just `hi' and `bye,' really," Herbert said of their interactions.
Herbert, who has lived in the building for about a year, said that while LaRose's physical appearance wasn't out-of-the-ordinary, her disappearance was.
"I met her and then all of a sudden, I didn't see her," Herbert said. She explained the last time she saw LaRose was around the end of August or the beginning of September, about the time children started going back to school.
Herbert, who drives a school bus for the area school district, said it seemed her schedule was opposite of LaRose's, because she didn't see her very much. However, "I never noticed anyone coming or going" from LaRose's apartment, she said. Herbert did believe LaRose lived with a man at the apartment, and mail lying on the doorstep of the apartment where LaRose once lived Tuesday was addressed to that man.
Court papers indicated LaRose was living with a person whose initials were "K.G." in Montgomery County. The mail found on the doorstep of 427 Main St., Tuesday, was addressed to a person whose initials were K.G.
Herbert said she wasn't sure whether LaRose and that man were married.
Herbert said the attention by the news media to Pennsburg Tuesday was a bit alarming.
"This is a very peaceful neighborhood," she said. "Pennsburg is a very quiet community. Everybody pretty much knows everybody."
She said she first heard about LaRose's alleged terrorist activities Tuesday when reporters arrived.
"The news crews were knocking on my door," she said. "When they (the media) first told me (of the indictment) I was shocked. I was totally surprised. You don't expect this in your community."
Patty Hartman, media contact for the U.S. Attorney's office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said Tuesday night that LaRose has been in custody since Oct. 15.
She confirmed LaRose was from Montgomery County, but would not confirm whether LaRose lived in Pennsburg.
Court papers indicated LaRose traveled to Europe in August 2009 prior to being taken into custody. LaRose allegedly was involved in "conspiracy to kill in a foreign country" from sometime in 2008 until Oct. 15, 2009. Court papers indicated LaRose and her co-conspirators were involved in recruiting people online to "wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe."
Court papers indicate LaRose utilized YouTube as a means of publicizing that she was "`desperate to do something to somehow help' the suffering Muslim people."
Hartman said LaRose was taken into custody in October while she was in Philadelphia, and LaRose is currently being held in a federal detention center in Philadelphia. An arraignment for LaRose is scheduled for sometime in the next week, Hartman said.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office, if LaRose is convicted of the charges against her, her maximum sentence will be life imprisonment and a $1 million fine.
Her federal public defender Mark T. Wilson declined comment Tuesday.
Department of Justice spokesman Dean Boyd said the case represents "one of only a few such cases nationwide in which females have been charged with terrorism violations." He declined to comment further.
In recent years, the only other women charged in the U.S. with terror violations were lawyer Lynne Stewart, convicted of helping imprisoned blind Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman communicate with his followers, and Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist found guilty of shooting at U.S. personnel in Afghanistan while yelling, "Death to Americans!"
But neither of those cases involved the kind of plotting attributed to LaRose — a woman charged with trying to foment a terror conspiracy to kill someone overseas.
Stewart has insisted she is "not a traitor," while Siddiqui has accused U.S. authorities of lying about her.
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