Thread: Student agrees to plead to terror support charge

June 13, 2008
Student agrees to plead to terror support charge

An Egyptian college student who videotaped himself showing how to turn remote-controlled cars into bomb detonators has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of providing material support to terrorists, according to a plea agreement filed Friday.

Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, one of two students arrested after a traffic stop in South Carolina in August, will enter the plea at a hearing next week in federal court in Tampa, said his attorney Linda Moreno.

Deputies said they found explosives in the trunk of the car Mohamed was driving, but defense attorneys have claimed they were merely ingredients for homemade fireworks.

Under the terms of the plea deal, prosecutors have agreed to dismiss other charges against Mohamed, 26.

Mohamed stated that his purpose in producing and uploading the video to YouTube was to teach "martyrdoms" and "suiciders" how to save themselves so they could continue to fight the U.S. military in Arab countries, the plea agreement said.

In the 12-minute video, Mohamed discusses in Arabic and shows how to dismantle and rewire a remote-controlled toy car to make a detonator, the document said.

"Instead of the brethren going to, to carry out martyrdom operations, no, may God bless him, he can use the explosion tools from distance and preserve his life ... for the real battles," Mohamed states during the video, according to the document.

Mohamed faces a maximum sentence of 15 years of prison, a $250,000 fine, and as many as three years of supervised release.

Moreno said her client decided to plead guilty "after a very long and agonizing decision and with the support of his family."

She said he could have risked life in prison, if convicted.

A telephone message left for the U.S. Attorney's Office was not immediately returned Friday.

The plea agreement said after Mohamed's arrest he was interviewed about the video.

"His statements constitute admissions that his intention in producing and distributing the recording was to support attempts by terrorists to murder employees of the United States, including members of the uniformed services," the agreement said.

The other former University of South Florida student, Youssef Samir Megahed, is charged with illegally transporting explosives and possession of a destructive device. Mohamed faced those charges plus terrorism related counts stemming from the how-to video.

They have claimed they were on a sightseeing trip and using GPS to find gas stations where they could buy cheap gas with gift cards.

A search of the car uncovered bullets and items in the trunk of the car that authorities described as pipe bombs, police said. Attorneys for the students said the items were four PVC pipes containing a mixture of sugar, potassium nitrate and cat litter, which along with fuses would be used for homemade, low-grade fireworks.

An FBI laboratory analysis determined the items were a "pyrotechnic mixture" that burned but didn't explode in tests.

Megahed was scheduled to be tried separately starting in May, but the trial was delayed after prosecutors appealed a judge's ruling to exclude some evidence. A judge released Megahed on $200,000 bail. It wasn't clear when the trial would start.

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We need to set a minimum of how many students, etc. who come into this country. I am sick of this crap. What is happening to our country? I really know I just sometimes have to ask outloud.

Originally Posted by agrneydgrl

We need to set a minimum of how many students, etc. who come into this country. I am sick of this crap. What is happening to our country? I really know I just sometimes have to ask outloud.

Universities are now hiring foreign students as H1-B lab assistants, which means that American students are being frozen out of careers while we train foreigners to take jobs awhile from recent American graduates. It's all part of the "race to the bottom".

Maybe they will care when someone hurts or kills one of their family members, or runs a loaded plane into the white house.