- Thousands protest Koran burning plan in Afghan north
- Obama says Koran burning can badly damage U.S. abroad | Video
- U.S. waits Japan nod on F-35 security pact
- Four dead in San Francisco suburb gas line inferno | Video
- Host company pulls plug on Florida pastor's website
- New York imam says no meeting planned with pastor
- "Project Runway" keeps NY fashion week guessing
- Factbox: Key problems facing new Nokia CEO Elop
- Judge rules ban on gays in military unconstitutional
- FDA cracks down on 5 makers of e-cigarettes
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. NASDAQ delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
"JihadJane" accused of terror plot in Sweden
Colleen LaRose, who is also known by the pseudonyms of ''Fatima LaRose'' and ''JihadJane'', is pictured in this handout released by Site Intelligence Group March 10, 2010. Larose has been charged with plotting to kill a Swedish man and trying to recruit fighters via the Internet to commit violent attacks overseas, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday.
Credit: Reuters/Site Intelligence Group/Handout
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania woman has been charged with plotting to kill a Swedish man and trying to recruit fighters via the Internet to commit violent attacks overseas, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.
Colleen LaRose, who also went by the pseudonym of "Fatima LaRose" and "JihadJane," was charged with conspiracy to commit murder overseas, conspiracy to provide support to terrorists, making false statements and attempted identity theft.
LaRose posted a comment on YouTube in June 2008 that she wanted to help "the suffering Muslim people." She sent emails to unnamed co-conspirators offering to become a martyr as well as to use her American background to avoid detection, according to the indictment filed in a federal court in Pennsylvania.
The indictment accused LaRose of agreeing in March 2009 to marry a co-conspirator from a South Asian country and try to obtain residency in Europe. He urged her to go to Sweden, find the unnamed Swedish man "and kill him."
Also on Tuesday, Irish police said seven people had been arrested there in connection with a plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist, Lars Vilk, over a 2007 drawing depicting the Prophet Muhammed with the body of a dog.
The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment on whether the cases were connected.
"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," David Kris, head of the department's national security division, said in a statement.
The Obama administration has grown increasingly worried about Americans and foreigners living in the United States taking up the cause of anti-American militants and launching attacks here or abroad.
Two recent cases have fueled those concerns: the arrest of a Chicago man accused of helping plot the 2008 Mumbai attacks and an Afghan immigrant living in Colorado who pleaded guilty to plotting a bomb attack on the New York subway system.
In the Pennsylvania case, LaRose was accused of traveling to Europe in August 2009 and tracking online her intended murder target in Sweden, according to the indictment. It also said she tried to raise money over the Internet, lure others to her cause and lied to FBI investigators.
"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," Michael Levy, the U.S. attorney in Pennsylvania, said in a statement.
After returning to the United States, LaRose was arrested in October 2009 on a charge related to the theft of a U.S. passport, court documents showed.
If convicted on the four counts in the indictment, which was dated March 4, 2010, LaRose could face a sentence of life in prison and a $1 million fine.
(Editing by Chris Wilson)
well obama is worried that is funny. if we were so worried why did we close Gitmo.we had detainees there who had ties with terrorist groups but there civi liberties were being violated.well you know what my civi liberties have been violated every time i hear one of these animals want to kill us.
Adios to that lady. What is the deal with these people anyway? It may be that they are seeking self-attention at any cost. At any rate, as the internet increases the speed of life, society will become more and more self-absorbed. As that increases, common sense and sense of reality will decrease. Bottom line, it is not a video game, it is real.
@gonavy — Gitmo’s not closed. There are still detainees there who’ve never been charged with a crime. Not going to argue with you on your right to be upset about people who want/threaten/actively try to kill Americans… we agree there. But Gitmo does nothing to protect us. Your anger sounds a bit misplaced. Beat Army.
you are correct about Gitmo and yes I am angry. I worked at the trade ctr and I saw first hand what hate for americans is like.I just can not accept these people are looking to constantly hurt our citizens. And what makes this one worse is she is an American.gonavy beat army
No matter if this person was just a crazy with no hope of this plot to succeed or not. The fact remains that she WANTED to kill in the name of Jihad. The point isn’t whether should could have gone through with it, the point is that she intended to go through with it. And in fact she recruited/helped to recruit people for that end. This is what makes this person dangerous.
gonavy — I used to work across teh street from the WTC and lost a few friends and acquaintances the day that the jihadis hijacked four passenger planes and targeted 10,000s of innocent people.
Every non-muslim ought to be taught just how vicious Islam can be and be frightened of the misguided hatred for others that runs deeply within some strains of the “religion”. What Jane believes is what several hundred million muslims believe — that God wants people to kill other people. In this case, some muslims take the parts of the Quarn literally where it says to kill the non-believers. And in this case, they believe it is their duty to kill anyone who suggests that their prophet — Mohammed — has been less than the greatest human who ever lived. Poking fun at the Prophet has long been a capital offense in the most “holy” of muslim sectc and societies. And these folks take their beliefs seriously.
What Jane (Colleen LaRose) shows is that belief is not tied to genetics. It runs deeply in one’s brain, and that all of the culture in the world cannot overcome deeply held conviction that what one believes is God’s charge is the ultimate duty. Nonetheless, there are more muslims who believe that murder and mayhem are not Allah’s bidding. It is essential that the majority muslim view trumps the view of Saudi-trained imams who truly believe in hatred and murder in God’s name. Colleen LaRose is just a symptom of the coming population explosion in the muslim world. Something for security experts to deal with, and perhaps there is a way to stop people from believing that Islam means murder.
