2010 Year In Review: Homegrown Terrorism [Reader Post]

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Throughout the past year I’ve been saving links to news of Islamic terrorism in the United States. Why did I save these links? Because many of these events were not widely reported and because someone needs to create a list for future reference as this type of information can give an overall view of the threat we face. Imagine some future researcher looking through old articles searching for “Islamic terrorism.” He’s just as likely to find news of Islamophobia as he is to finding news of actual terrorism. With that in mind it’s time again for the year in review:

Queens man Adis Medunjanin, linked to Zazi NYC terror bomb plot, pleads not guilty
NY Daily News, January 9th 2010

Medunjanin was arrested Thursday afternoon after he crashed into another car near the Whitestone Bridge following an FBI raid of his home and the seizure of his passport.

Medunjanin, 25, called 911 just before the crash and yelled to the dispatcher in Arabic: “We love death more than you love life! There is only one Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger!”

Ex-Convicts From U.S. Said to Join Yemen Radicals
New York Times, January 19, 2010

Some American former convicts who converted to Islam in prison have moved to Yemen and a few may have joined extremist groups there, according to a new Senate report.

The report, from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says that as many as 36 American Muslims who were prisoners have moved to Yemen in recent months, ostensibly to study Arabic, and that several of them have “dropped off the radar” and may have connected to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The Jihadist Next Door
New York Times, January 27, 2010

In the three years since Hammami made his way to Somalia, his ascent into the Shabab’s leadership has put him in a class of his own, according to United States law-enforcement and intelligence officials. While other American terror suspects have drawn greater publicity, Hammami exercises a more powerful role, commanding guerrilla forces in the field, organizing attacks and plotting strategy with Qaeda operatives, the officials said. He has also emerged as something of a jihadist icon, starring in a recruitment campaign that has helped draw hundreds of foreign fighters to Somalia. “To have an American citizen that has risen to this kind of a rank in a terrorist organization ­— we have not seen that before,” a senior American law-enforcement official said earlier this month.

Seized al-Qaida agent might be American
The Seattle Times, March 7, 2010

An operative of al-Qaida believed to be an American was arrested in the sprawling southern city of Karachi in recent days by Pakistani security officials, Pakistan said Sunday.

U.S. and Pakistani officials said the man arrested was Abu Yahya Mujahdeen al-Adam, who was described as having been born in Pennsylvania and who was thought to be affiliated with the operations division of al-Qaida, commanding fighters in Afghanistan.

U.S. citizen accused in Yemen killing had been under FBI watch
Washington Post, March 13, 2010

Sharif Mobley, a U.S. citizen accused of killing a hospital guard in Yemen, is believed to be a homegrown radical who left this country to make direct contact with al-Qaeda, according to U.S. counterterrorism officials, making him the latest in a string of such suspects.

American Linked to Terror Plot Brainwashed 6-Year-Old Son, Family Says
FOX News, March 14, 2010

The 6-year-old son of a Colorado nursing student who ran off to Europe to join a terrorist murder cell was brainwashed into a hate-filled Islamic fundamentalist zombie, his family said Saturday, The New York Post reported.

“He said that Christians will burn in hellfire,” the child’s grandmother, Christine Mott, told The Post. “That’s what they are teaching this baby.”

The boy’s mom, Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, 31, converted to Islam over the last year.

“Jihad Jane” pleads not guilty to terrorism
Reuters, March 18, 2010

A Pennsylvania woman who called herself “Jihad Jane” pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of providing material support to terrorists and conspiring to kill in a foreign country.

Colleen LaRose appeared in federal court in Philadelphia accused of plotting with others over the Internet to kill a Swedish cartoonist who depicted the Prophet Mohammed in a way that was offensive to Muslims, and of wanting to become a martyr to Islam.

5 Americans are charged with terrorism-related offenses in Pakistan
Cleveland.com, Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Five American students caught in Pakistan last year were charged Wednesday, March 17, with terrorism-related offenses, and they will face a full trial and the prospect of a jail sentence. The men alleged that Pakistani police had tortured them.

The men, all Muslims from 18 to 24 years old from the Washington suburbs, were arrested in the central Pakistani town of Sargodha in December. They had traveled to Pakistan after making contact with an Islamic extremist over the Internet.

U.S. citizen David Coleman Headley admits role in Mumbai attacks
Washington Post, March 19, 2010

An American man who scouted targets for the deadly 2008 Mumbai terrorist strike pleaded guilty Thursday to a dozen criminal charges and agreed to help prosecutors and intelligence analysts probing other likely targets overseas.

David Coleman Headley, 49, could spend the rest of his life in prison in exchange for prosecutors not pursuing the death penalty. National security experts consider Headley, who was arrested in a Chicago airport in October, one of the most dangerous and knowledgeable terrorist operatives they have apprehended on American soil.

Cab Driver Charged With Aiding Terrorist Plot
NBC Chicago, March 26, 2010

A Chicago taxi driver who claims to be acquainted with an alleged terrorist leader in Pakistan was arrested Friday on federal charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

The U.S. Attorney’s office alleges Raja Lahrasib Khan, a native of Pakistan who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1988, attempted to provide funds overseas to al Qaeda and discussed attacking a stadium in the United States this summer.

Obama authorises targeted killing of radical AMERICAN Muslim cleric who inspired Christmas Day bomber
Daily Mail, April 7, 2010

The U.S. government has put one of its own citizens, a radical Islamic preacher, on a CIA hitlist.

It means the agency is authorised to capture or kill Anwar al-Awlaki, believed to be in hiding in Yemen.

The 39-year-old cleric, who was born in New Mexico, is said to be the senior Al Qaeda planner in Yemen and to be linked to a series of attacks against the U.S., including 9/11.

2 U.S. men charged with aiding al-Qaida
UPI, May 1, 2010

A computer engineer and an accountant, both with New York roots, have been charged with providing al-Qaida technical advice and other support, officials said.

Wesam El-Hanafi, the 33-year-old computer engineer, and Sabirhan Hasanoff, 34, the accountant, were brought from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Alexandria, Va., where a federal magistrate judge ordered both be detained Friday.

El-Hanafi, an American citizen who was born in Brooklyn, and Hasanoff, a dual citizen of the United States and Australia, were to be transferred to Manhattan for further proceedings, the U.S. attorney’s office in New York said.

Times Square Car Bomb Suspect Faces Terrorism Charges After Admitting to Plot
Fox News, May 04, 2010

Pakistani-born U.S. citizen Faisal Shahzad has admitted trying to set off a car bomb in busy Times Square and will face terrorism and mass destruction charges, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.

Holder said in a press conference that Shahzad has been charged with an act of terrorism and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in the May 1 bomb plot.

Holder said Shahzad, who has provided “valuable information” to investigators, attempted to carry out a “lethal terrorist attack” aimed at “murdering Americans in one of the busiest places in our country.”

American Citizen Sent Money to Al Qaeda
NY Times, May 19, 2010

A Moroccan-born naturalized United States citizen pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges that he sent money to Al Qaeda, in the latest terrorism-related case to arise involving an American.

The man, Khalid Ouazzani, 32, a used car and auto parts dealer in Kansas City, Mo., admitted to the court that he sent $23,000 to Al Qaeda in 2007 and 2008, along with related charges involving money laundering and bank fraud. He also admitted that he swore an oath of allegiance to the terrorist group in August 2008.

Two Ohio Residents Arrested for Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Hizballah and Fraud
SYS-CON, June 3, 2010

Two residents of Toledo, Ohio, Hor I. Akl, age 37, and his spouse, Amera A. Akl, age 37, both of whom are dual citizens of the United States and Lebanon, were arrested today on charges that they conspired to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, conspired to launder money, and committed arson relating to an insurance fraud scheme.

Terrorism arrest ‘sobering,’ FBI says
UPI, June 4, 2010

A federal grand jury in Houston charged 29-year-old Barry Walter Bujol Jr. with attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Jose Angel Moreno and FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Richard C. Powers said in a release.

Bujol was arrested last weekend in a sting operation led by the FBI. He allegedly tried to arrange for communications equipment and sensitive U.S. military publication for AQAP. U.S. officials said they believe the Texas man had contact with radical Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki as well.

Two N.J. men arrested at JFK airport before boarding plane to join Islamist terrorist group, authorities say
New Jersey On-Line, June 06, 2010

Two New Jersey men intent on killing American troops were arrested Saturday as they boarded flights to link up with a virulent jihadist group in Somalia, authorities said.

The men, both North Jersey residents, were charged with conspiring to commit an act of international terrorism through a group tied to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network, according to officials familiar with the details of the arrests.

Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, 20, of North Bergen, and Carlos Eduardo “Omar” Almonte, 24, of Elmwood Park were apprehended at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens before they could board separate flights to Egypt, where they were to start journeys to Somalia.

Syed Hashmi Sentenced to 15 Years for Aiding Al-Qaeda
Businessweek, June 09, 2010

A man who admitted providing supplies and money to a senior al-Qaeda commander in charge of waging war against the U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Syed Hashmi, 30, who was born in Pakistan and raised in New York, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan in April to a charge of conspiring to provide material support to the terrorist group.

2 Americans in Cases Tied to Terrorism
New York Times, July 21, 2010

In an unrelated case on Wednesday, another American convert to Islam, Paul G. Rockwood Jr., 35, of King Salmon, Alaska, admitted that he had been radicalized by reading Mr. Awlaki’s tracts on the Web and had prepared a list of 15 people he believed should be killed for “desecrating Islam.”

According to his guilty plea in federal court in Anchorage, Mr. Rockwood gave the list to his wife, Nadia Piroska Maria Rockwood, but neither is accused of taking any steps toward harming the people on the list, whom prosecutors did not name.

Two men guilty in New York airport bomb plot case
Reuters, August 2, 2010

Two Islamist militants were found guilty on Monday by a federal jury of plotting to bomb New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Russell Defreitas, 67, a U.S. citizen born in Guyana, and Abdul Kadir, 58, of Guyana, conspired to blow up buildings, fuel tanks and pipelines at the airport in the New York City borough of Queens.

Chicago Man Arrested, Charged With Aiding al-Qaida
NBC Chicago, August 4, 2010

A 26-year-old Chicago man was trying to help finance al-Qaida and hoped to blow himself up in a suicide mission, authorities say. Shaker Masri was arrested Tuesday evening and charged by federal prosecutors on Wednesday with knowingly intending to use a weapon of mass destruction outside the United States.

U.S. indictments charge 14 with terrorism
Seattle Times, August 5, 2010

Federal indictments unsealed Thursday in Minnesota, Alabama and California charge 14 people with terrorism offenses connected to the Islamist al-Shabab organization in Somalia.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the charges reflect a disturbing trend in which al-Shabab, which has links to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network, has appealed to U.S. citizens of Somali descent to join the group’s battle against a weak U.S.-backed transitional government and African Union peacekeeping forces.

Holder said there was no direct evidence that al-Shabab is threatening the U.S., although a terrorist attack last month in Uganda “gives us pause.” Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, in which at least 74 civilians were killed in coordinated bombings at two locations in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, where crowds were watching the World Cup soccer final. A U.S. aid worker from Delaware was among the victims.

Two Men on United Flight from Chicago Arrested for ‘Preparation of a Terrorist Attack’ in Amsterdam
ABC News, August 30th, 2010

Two men taken off a Chicago-to-Amsterdam United Airlines flight in the Netherlands were detained by Dutch police on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist attack,” U.S. law enforcement officials tell ABC News.

The men were identified as Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al Soofi, of Detroit, MI, and Hezem al Murisi, the officials said. A neighbor of al Soofi told ABC News he is from Yemen.

US man guilty of urging attack on South Park writers
BBC, October 20, 2010

A US man has pleaded guilty to supporting a Somali Islamist militant group and encouraging attacks on the writers of cartoon show South Park.

Prosecutors said Zachary Adam Chesser, 20, was outraged by the cartoon’s perceived mockery of the prophet Muhammad.

FBI Says It Supplied Fake Bomb in Chicago Plot
FOXNews, September 21, 2010

A man arrested for allegedly placing a backpack he thought contained a bomb near Chicago’s Wrigley Field got the fake explosive from an FBI undercover agent, authorities say — a tactic that has been used in other U.S. terrorism cases in recent years.

Sami Samir Hassoun, 22, a Lebanese citizen living in Chicago for about three years, was charged Monday with one count each of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted use of an explosive device.

More Details on Metro Bombing Plot
My Fox DC, October 28, 2010

The Virginia man accused of plotting to bomb the Washington-area subway system was also training with firearms and with martial arts, according to court documents.

He also suggested bombing four Metro stations between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. because that would, “cause the highest number of casualties,” according to an affidavit in support of a search warrant.

34-year-old Farooque Ahmed, a naturalized American citizen originally from Pakistan, remains in custody in the Alexandria jail, charged with three terrorism-related felonies.

Hawaiian man charged in international terrorism case
Examiner, November 3rd, 2010

Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, age 21 and a U.S. citizen and resident of Hawaii, is charged with making false statements in a matter involving international terrorism. Shehadeh was arrested on Friday, October 22, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

According to the criminal complaint, in early 2008, Shehadeh, at the time a resident of Staten Island, New York, devised a plan to travel to Pakistan in order to join the Taliban or a similar fighting group.

Missouri: 3 Men Charged in Plot to Funnel Money for Terrorism
New York Times, November 3, 2010

A Missouri man and a Minnesotan are among three people facing charges in a plot to funnel money to a terrorist group in Somalia. An indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses Mohamud Abdi Yusuf, of St. Louis, of providing material support to the group, known as the Shabab.


Calif. woman charged in terrorism case

UPI, November 15, 2010

A San Diego woman has been charged with aiding al-Shabaab, an Islamic militant organization based in southern Somalia, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Nima Ali Yusuf, 24, was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to provide material support to al-Shabaab and making false statements to a government agency in a matter involving international terrorism, Laura E. Duffy, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California, said.

Federal authorities charged five people in the United States Nov. 4 with supporting al-Shabaab.

FBI thwarts terrorist bombing attempt at Portland holiday tree lighting, authorities say
Oregon Live, November 26, 2010

The FBI thwarted an attempted terrorist bombing in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square before the city’s annual tree-lighting Friday night, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon.

A Corvallis man, thinking he was going to ignite a bomb, drove a van to the corner of the square at Southwest Yamhill Street and Sixth Avenue and attempted to detonate it.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, a Somali-born U.S. citizen, was arrested at 5:42 p.m., 18 minutes before the tree lighting was to occur, on an accusation of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Man Charged In Recruitment Center Bomb Plot
WBAL TV, December 8, 2010

BALTIMORE — A 21-year-old construction worker has been accused of plotting to use a vehicle bomb to blow up a military recruitment center in Catonsville, Baltimore County.

The suspect has been identified as Antonio Martinez, aka Muhammed Hussain. He faces charges of attempted murder of federal officers and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. He’s currently being held without bond.

Facebook chats alert authorities to Va. man’s bomb threats
Washinton Examiner, December 12, 2010

Awais Younis, who also goes by Sundullah “Sunny” Ghilzai as well as Mohhanme Khan, was charged in federal court in Alexandria with making threatening communications.

The documents say Younis described how to build a pipe bomb and advocated placing bombs on the third and fifth cars of Metro trains because they “had the highest number of commuters on them and he could place pipe bombs in these locations and would not be noticed.”

Younis also said he could put a bomb under a sewer head in Georgetown at rush hour “to produce the greatest number of casualties,” the affidavit says.

Anti-war activists: New subpoenas a ‘witch hunt’
Chicago Breaking News, December 23, 2010

More federal grand jury subpoenas went out this week as part of an apparent investigation into possible links between U.S. anti-war groups and foreign terrorists organizations, according to an attorney for the anti-war activists.

More than 20 activists in the Chicago and Minneapolis areas have now been subpoenaed as part of the federal probe, according to attorney Michael Deutsch, who is coordinating the activists’ defense.

In September, subpoenas and search warrants executed on homes in Chicago and Minneapolis stated the investigation was after evidence of “material support of terrorism” and was seeking records of travel by the activists in the Middle East and South America.

American Muslim indicted for wanting to join US military to kill soldiers
Examiner, December 24th, 2010

American Muslim indicted for wanting to join US military to kill soldiers. A US-born Muslim from Staten Island, New York, has just been indicted for lying to the FBI about his true intentions to join the US military and then start killing US soldiers. 21-year-old Abdel Hameed Shehadeh faces three terrorism-related charges that involve his plan to join the US military only so he could fight against US soldiers. According to the complaint, Shehadeh plotted to deploy with the US military to Iraq, but once there to desert the military and then fight alongside Islamic terrorists against the US. Shehadeh is also an operator of multiple, radical and violent Jihadist websites that promote terrorism against the west.

Please post links to any articles I may have missed in the comments.

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Well done.

December 21, 2010
A new terror threat using ricin and cyanide to cause simultaneous attacks on hotels and restaurants over a single weekend has bioterror experts worried.

In response to the threat, Department of Homeland Security officials and members of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have briefed a small group of corporate security officers from the hotel and restaurant industries.

Jan 3rd:
Thousands of dead birds and fish in Arkansas ……..
Jan 4th:
500 blackbirds dead in Pointe Coupee Parish, La……..

[Edited to add: now also dead birds in Kentucky, too! Several hundred grackles, red wing blackbirds, robins and starlings were among the dead.]

No proof, just sayin.

I seems so often a terror attack is played off as some lone, crazy guy….who just happens to be a young Muslim.
I recall a dead man in a Las Vegas hotel room some time after 9-11.
Ricin poisoning turned out to be the cause.
The man died trying to make it.
Never found out more about the case.

@Nan G:
Because there was nothing to see, move along, move along… One must have a pay grade similar to Obama to need to be worried about these things. Carry on normal operations….

BOY OH BOY, that’s scary enough, to become a priority to the security, they
PREY ON AMERICANS to convert them to a religion and get them on killing other of their own brothers,for the sake of fulfiling their hate agenda.