Thread: Arrest Made in Possible Terror Plot

www.latimes.com

Arrest Made in Possible Terror Plot
FBI probe uncovers a list of potential Southland targets and suggests a connection between prison groups and Islamic extremists.
By Greg Krikorian
Times Staff Writer

August 16, 2005

A Pakistani national has been arrested by authorities in connection with a far-reaching investigation of a possible terrorist plot targeting any of nearly two dozen locations in Southern California, including National Guard recruitment centers, law enforcement sources said Monday.

The suspect, identified as Hamad Riaz Samana, 21, of Los Angeles, was quietly taken into custody last week by counter-terrorism officials as part of a probe that began with the arrest of two men in Torrance suspected of robbing gas stations. The investigation, sources said, has involved more than 100 FBI agents and Los Angeles police detectives as well as counter-terrorism specialists with other federal and local agencies.

The case has opened a new and troubling front for counter-terrorism officials because of a possible connection to a radical form of Islam practiced by a group called Jamiyyat Ul Islam Is Saheeh, an official said. The group's name translates as The Assembly of Authentic Islam.

While little is known publicly about the JIS, as intelligence officials call it, the group has been around for several years and has a presence at Folsom State Prison, where one of the three men in custody, Levar Haney Washington, 25, served time for assault and robbery, according to law enforcement sources.

The JIS is only one of the prison-based groups being investigated for possible ties to Islamic extremists. The prospect that prisons in the U.S. may prove a breeding ground for homegrown terrorists has been a central focus of the closely-guarded investigation by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Monday, without providing any details, that the public disclosures about the JIS underscored concerns that inmates and ex-cons might be recruited for terrorism in the U.S.

"The conversation about prisons has been going on for a long time. That is not a new subject," Harman said during a luncheon with Times reporters. "My question is why don't we know more about this group, and what about other groups?"

The counter-terrorism case began when Washington and Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21, were arrested by Torrance police in connection with a string of gas station robberies between May 30 and July 3.

The arrests led to a search of Washington's apartment on West 27th Street in Los Angeles.

Detectives discovered bulletproof vests and "jihadist" materials not readily available via the Internet, authorities said. Also found were the addresses of locations including the National Guard facilities, two synagogues, the Israeli Consulate and the El Al Israel Airlines ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport.

Law enforcement sources say other recovered documents suggest that particular dates â€â€

www.latimes.com

Terror Probe Targets Prison in Folsom
Alleged plot to attack Southland sites may have been conceived inside the facility.
By Greg Krikorian and Jenifer Warren
Times Staff Writers

August 17, 2005

Counterterrorism officials investigating an alleged plot to attack National Guard recruitment centers, synagogues and other sites in Southern California said Tuesday they are investigating the possibility that the plot was hatched by Islamic extremists and gang members at a state prison in Folsom.

Details remained closely guarded, but law enforcement sources said they were actively investigating the breadth of possible connections between three men now in custody in Los Angeles and inmates at California State Prison, Sacramento, one of two prisons in Folsom, about 25 miles east of the capital.

The possibility of connections between prison gangs and potential terrorists has been a worry for U.S. officials for some time.

There are at least several significant investigations into the alleged use of federal and state prisons as bases for recruiting potential Islamic terrorists, according to a senior FBI counterterrorism official in Washington.

Investigators emphasized that they have not proved the alleged plot in the current case was hatched at the prison. Nor are they certain how many of about two dozen targets involved in the case might have been the site of a planned terrorist attack.

"We have no indication so far how many they might have gone after," said a law enforcement official involved in the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the continuing investigation.

The investigators say they do know that an Islamic group called Jamiyyat Ul Islam Is Saheeh, or JIS, has had a presence at the prison for about five years and that its followers include both inmates and former inmates. The group's name translates from Arabic into the Assembly of Authentic Islam.

Devan Hawkes, a gang specialist with the Corrections Department, said the group was the smaller and newer of two Islamic gangs, referred to by agents as "disruptive groups," known to be operating in California prisons.

Officials involved in the investigation have three people in custody who are believed to be connected with the alleged plot â€â€

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http://kfi640.com/ericleonard.html

TERRORISM
Terror Investigators Examine Ties to Prison
August 17, 2005

((LISTEN )) | By Eric Leonard

Plans for a series of gun attacks around Los Angeles may have been hatched at a state prison near Sacramento. Law enforcement sources say inmates there may have been trying to recruit for a, “jihad,� against the United States.



TERRORISM
Army Ball, Recruiting Centers Targetted, Others May Be Involved in Local Terror Plot
August 16, 2005

(( LISTEN )) | By Eric Leonard

A formal reception for Army officers in Long Beach may have been the first target of two men recently arrested for a series of robberies and who are now suspected of plotting gun attacks around Los Angeles, law enforcement sources have told KFI NEWS.


TERRORISM
Two Local Men Planned September 11, 2005 Attack
August 15, 2005

(( LISTEN )) | By Eric Leonard

Two men recently arrested on suspicion of committing armed robberies in Torrance and Fullerton were Muslim converts who are now suspected of planning a variety of jihad-inspired terror attacks around Los Angeles, including one scheduled for September 11, 2005, KFI NEWS has learned.

There is no question that open borders, slimy gangsters, lunatic jihadists, and jail birds all have common cause. They hate America. They hate taxpaying middle class Americans. They hate anyone with any morals or standards.

They are self centered, debased, cretanous vermin that need to be eradicated wholesale. We are much too kind to this type of human garbage.

http://www.michnews.com/artman/publish/ ... 9342.shtml

Four Terrorists Arrested in Terror Conspiracy
By Jim Kouri, CPP
MichNews.com
Sep 3, 2005




[The following article is based on government reports received by the National Association of Chiefs of Police. NACOP represents over 14,000 police commanders, sheriffs and directors of security.]

Four men were indicted by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana California for their suspected terrorist plot to attack US military installations, Israeli government facilities and Jewish synagogues in the Los Angeles area, according to the US Department of Justice.

The seditious conspiracy charged in the indictment, which also included nearly a dozen gas station robberies intended to raise money for the terrorist operation, was allegedly headed by an inmate at California State Prison-Sacramento. Prison inmate Kevin James founded a radical Islamic organization known as Jam'iyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS. Recruitment of terrorists in the conspiracy began in prison, according to the indictment. Upon being released from prison, defendant Levar Washington then allegedly recruited other co-conspirators to plot terrorist acts and commit armed robberies.

The six-count grand jury indictment charges leader Kevin James, 29, a US national, who allegedly founded JIS in 1997 while in prison; Levar Washington, 25, a US national;
Gregory Patterson, 21, a US national; and Hammad Samana, 21, a lawful permanent US resident originally from Pakistan.

The indictment charges all four defendants with conspiracy to levy war against the United States government through terrorism and conspiracy to possess and discharge firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence. Three of the suspected terrorists -- Washington, Patterson and Samana -- are charged with conspiracy to kill members of the US government uniformed services and conspiracy to kill foreign officials. Washington and Patterson are further charged with interference with commerce by robbery and using and carrying a firearm in connection with a crime of violence.

"The indictment[s] allege[s] that these defendants turned their terrorist plans and actions against locations in their own country, targeting American military facilities, religious institutions, and other facilities right here in the United States," said Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

The AG thanked the work of investigators at all levels of government. During a press conference, AG Gonzales intimated that any further acts of violence arising from this dangerous conspiracy -- a conspiracy which included identification of target locations, procurement of weapons, firearms and physical training, recruitment efforts, and financing operations through armed robberies -- had been prevented as a result of these arrests.

Diligent work by the Torrance Police Department was the first step in uncovering and ultimately disrupting a terrorist plot that had the potential to cause significant bloodshed. The local police reported the results of their initial investigation to the FBI and from there all levels of law enforcement worked together to uncover and disrupt a plot that sought to do significant damage to the United States and the death of many people.

Also involved in the investigation were members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPD committed over 100 persons from their Counter Terrorism Bureau to assist in this terrorism investigation.

The indictment alleges that James recruited fellow prison inmates to join JIS and preached the duty of members to target enemies of Islam, or "infidels," including the US government and Jewish and non-Jewish supporters of Israel. James allegedly distributed a document in prison that justified the killing of "infidels," and made members take an oath not to talk about the existence of JIS. He also allegedly sought to establish groups or "cells" of JIS members outside of prison to carry out violent attacks against "perceived infidels," including the US government, the government of Israel and Jewish people.

Washington, also an inmate at the Sacramento prison, joined JIS in November 2004, and was paroled at the end of the month, according to the indictment. In December 2004, James allegedly instructed Washington to recruit five people to train in covert operations, acquire firearms with silencers, and find contacts with explosives expertise or learn to make bombs that could be activated from a distance.

The indictment alleges that beginning in about December 2004, Washington, Patterson and Samana targeted and conducted Internet research on and surveillance of US military facilities -- such as recruitment centers and military bases -- in the Los Angeles area, as part of their plot to murder US military personnel. In July 2005, Patterson and Samana allegedly used computers to research military targets in the Los Angeles area, while Samana drafted a document listing Israeli and US targets in Los Angeles. In addition to the US military targets, the co-conspirators specifically targeted Israeli and Jewish facilities in the Los Angeles area, including the Israeli Consulate, El Al (the national airline of Israel) and synagogues. They also allegedly engaged in firearms, martial arts and physical training in preparation for planned attacks.

The fledgling terrorist cell purchased weapons or tried to acquire weapons from illegal sources as part of their terrorist conspiracy. They also made efforts to raise money by robbing gas stations. Police reports indicate that 11 times beginning May 30, 2005, the defendants -- armed with shotguns -- robbed or attempted to rob gas stations in the several cities and towns in Southern California, including Los Angeles, Torrance, Playa Del Ray, Bellflower, Pico Rivera, Walnut, Orange, Playa Vista and Fullerton. Local cops allege that during the gas station robbery spree, Patterson updated James on the progress of the planned war of terrorism against the US government.

These terrorists face life sentences, according to prosecutors in the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

{The following agencies assisted with this report submitted to the National Association of Chiefs of Police headquarters in Florida: Los Angeles Police Department; US Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Torrance Police Department; the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department; the Long Beach Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; US Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Los Angeles Port Police; US Customs and Border Protection; the US Coast Guard Investigative Service; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and the US Environmental Protection Agency; Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, Bureau of Investigations; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; the California Department of Justice; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the US Air Force Office of Special Investigations; and the US Department of Defense. Other agencies providing resources to the investigation include the Federal Air Marshals, the Santa Monica Community College Police, the Beverly Hills Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Army Criminal Investigations Division, the US Army Office of Intelligence, the United States Marshals Service, the US Postal Inspection Service, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Los Angeles Airport Police.}