From A Charging Elephant:

FBI: Two Boston-area Muslims supported al Qaeda, traveled to Yemen to wage jihad


June 19, 2010 · 1 Comment

Creeping Sharia

F.B.I

Like many Islamic terrorists in the U.S., Boston jihadi-wannabe Tarek Mehanna has many supporters in the U.S. – Muslim and non-Muslim, communist, socialist and more.











Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, and Ahmad Abousamra, 28, who lived in Mansfield but is believed to be in Syria, were each charged in a new indictment with one count of conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely Al Qaeda, according to US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.





Prosecutors allege that Mehanna and his friend Abousamra traveled to Yemen and tried to join a terrorist training camp but were rejected. The two then plotted to shoot shoppers, but abandoned the plan because they could not get automatic weapons, prosecutors allege.



They are also accused, but not charged, with plotting to kill two unidentified government officials.



via Pair accused of conspiring to aid Al Qaeda



BOSTON, MA—Two men were charged today in a superseding indictment with one count each of conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.



United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Boston Field Division, announced today that TARIK MEHANNA, 27, of Sudbury, Massachusetts, and AHMAD ABOUSAMRA, 28, who currently resides in Syria, were charged in a superseding indictment with one count each of conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. This charge is additional to the prior 10-count superseding indictment charging them with providing and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, conspiracy to provide false information to law enforcement, and a number of separate counts of false statements to law enforcement.



The superseding indictment alleges that, beginning in or about 2001 and continuing until in or about the date of the return of the superseding indictment, MEHANNA and ABOUSAMRA conspired with each other, and others, to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely al Qaeda, by agreeing with their co-conspirators to provide personnel, expert advice and assistance, services, and other assistance. According to the superseding indictment, MEHANNA and ABOUSAMRA committed numerous overt acts that they believed would further their objective to provide material support to al Qaeda.



MEHANNA was previously indicted in January 2009 for making false statements to members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in connection with a terrorism investigation. On October 21, 2009, he was arrested on a Criminal Complaint and on November 5, 2009, he was charged in a superseding indictment and is currently being detained based on an order from the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts.



If convicted on the material support charges, MEHANNA and ABOUSAMRA each face up to 15 years’ imprisonment, to be followed by supervised release for any term of years up to life and a $250,000 fine, on each of the two counts. If convicted of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, MEHANNA and ABOUSAMRA each face up to life imprisonment, to be followed by supervised release for any term of years up to life.



Two of the false statement counts alleged against MEHANNA and one alleged against ABOUSAMRA concern false statements in connection with a terrorism investigation; on those counts, the defendants face a maximum of eight years’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years’ supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each count. The remaining false statement counts and the conspiracy to provide false information, each carry up to five years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.



The details contained in the superseding indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.



2 men face new terrorism charges


Pair accused of conspiring to aid Al Qaeda

Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury and a former Mansfield man tried to join a terrorist training camp but was rejected. He was arrested Oct. 21.



By Jonathan Saltzman

Globe Staff / June 18, 2010

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ShareThisText size – + Federal prosecutors added another terrorism charge yesterday against a Sudbury man and a former Mansfield man who allegedly traveled to Yemen in a failed attempt to join a terrorist camp and then plotted to shoot shoppers at a suburban mall before scrapping the plan.



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Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, and Ahmad Abousamra, 28, who lived in Mansfield but is believed to be in Syria, were each charged in a new indictment with one count of conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely Al Qaeda, according to US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.



The two had previously been charged in a 10-count indictment with providing and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, conspiracy to provide false information to law enforcement officials, and several counts of providing false statements to law enforcement.



Although the new charge mentions support of a designated foreign terrorist organization, prosecutors had previously alleged that the men had sought to aid Al Qaeda since 2001.



Mehanna, a 2008 graduate of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, was arrested Oct. 21 and has been held since then.



His Boston lawyer, J.W. Carney Jr., was not available for comment yesterday.



Prosecutors allege that Mehanna and his friend Abousamra traveled to Yemen and tried to join a terrorist training camp but were rejected. The two then plotted to shoot shoppers, but abandoned the plan because they could not get automatic weapons, prosecutors allege.



They are also accused, but not charged, with plotting to kill two unidentified government officials.



If convicted of material support charges, the most serious offenses, each man faces up to 15 years in prison.



Saltzman can be reached at jsaltzman@globe.com.


Mass. Muslim arrested, again, in plot to bomb mall, kill members of U.S. executive branch (video)


Posted on October 21, 2009 by creeping





More from CNN:



BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) — Investigators have charged a man with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and other crimes, the acting U.S. attorney for Massachusetts said Wednesday.






Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, Massachusetts, traveled overseas, sought training from the Taliban, wanted to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq and hoped to kill one or two members of the executive branch of the U.S. government, said Michael K. Loucks, the acting U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.



He declined to name the executive branch officials and said they were never in danger.



Mehanna was arrested a year ago after being accused of lying to FBI agents in a terrorism investigation, but the latest charges are more serious, Loucks said. Video Watch Loucks detail the charges »



Mehanna and co-conspirators planned trips overseas to try to join training camps and kill American soldiers, Loucks said. Mehanna and others traveled to Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and sought training from groups including the Taliban, he said.



They also planned to attack at least one U.S. shopping mall, Loucks said, but that did not happen because they couldn’t obtain the assault weapons they wanted, he said. He didn’t name the mall.



Loucks said the men had planned to assault multiple entrances of the mall, and had determined the steps they would take when first responders arrived.



Mehanna also is charged with using material support and resources in a conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure people or to damage property in a foreign country, Loucks said.



“I think we’re satisfied that we know every member of this group,” the attorney said. “We do not believe that there are any terrorist cells in this area.”



In addition, Mehanna obtained and watched videos of U.S. soldiers who were killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, he said. He also watched videos showing the mutilation of the bodies of U.S. service members who had been killed in Iraq, he said.



Mehanna was arrested in November 2008 as he was about to board a flight at Logan International Airport in Boston, Loucks said. A like-minded colleague fled the United States, he said.



Read about Mehanna’s previous arrest for lying about another Boston-area Muslim arrested fleeing Somalia. A quick search on Mehanna’s name shows he had quite a bit of support from Muslims in America. Will they continue to support him now?



Update: Terror suspect appears defiant in Mass. court



When ordered by the judge to stand to hear the charge against him, he refused. He finally did stand — tossing his chair loudly to the floor — only after his father urged him to do so


Boston-area terror suspect posed for Ground Zero pics; suggests parents knew about jihad training


Posted on October 26, 2009 by creeping

From the criminal complaint (pdf) against Tarek Mehanna in which he suggests his parents knew he went to Yemen for jihad training, via The Smoking Gun:



OCTOBER 21–The Massachusetts man arrested today on federal terrorism charges once traveled to New York City and posed for photos at ground zero showing him grinning widely and pointing one finger up in the air. Tarek Mehanna, 27, was named today in a criminal complaint charging him with conspiring to attack shoppers at a U.S. mall, as well as killing an American politician. According to investigators, Mehanna, pictured at right, traveled to Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, and Syria to seek training from assorted terror groups. According to an affidavit sworn by FBI Agent Heidi Williams, a search of Mehanna’s computer turned up photos of him and others enjoying their trip to the lower Manhattan site where thousands died during the September 11 attacks. In a June 2006 “communication” cited by Williams, Mehanna suggested seeking Allah’s mercy on the World Trade Center buildings, “not the sinners that were in it.” In another section of the affidavit, an FBI informant is quoted asking Mehanna if his parents knew why he traveled to Yemen. “They know I didn’t go there to graze goats,” Mehanna answered. (3 pages