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| Virginia Paintball Jihadis Convicted |
| 2004-03-05 |
| Three American Muslims accused of training for holy war against the United States by waging paintball battles in the Virginia woods were convicted Thursday of conspiring to support terrorism. Prosecutors said the three were part of a "Virginia jihad network" that used paintball games in 2000 and 2001 to train for holy war around the globe. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the group allegedly focused its efforts on defending the Taliban. Two of the defendants were accused of traveling to Pakistan to train with a terrorist group. The schools in Afghanistan must have been full. Masoud Khan, 34, of Gaithersburg, Md., was found guilty of the most serious charges, including conspiracy to levy war against the United States and conspiracy to contribute services to the Taliban. Khannnnnnn! Seifullah Chapman, 31, of Alexandria and Hammad Abdur-Raheem, 35, of Falls Church, Va., were also convicted on terrorism conspiracy counts. Goodbye, assholes. "These convictions are a stark reminder that terrorist organizations are active in the United States," Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft said. The defendants waived a jury trial and were convicted by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who said she did not believe the testimony of the two defendants who took the stand. "Lies! They lied!" Muslim activists held a news conference outside the courthouse to denounce the government’s treatment of Muslims after Sept. 11. Bernie Grimm, who represented Khan, said the case was the result of "9/11 hysteria." No, Bernie, "hysteria" is when we lynch your clients before the trial. Justice is when we hang them after the trial. Firearms convictions related to the conspiracy charges require a mandatory minimum sentence of 90 years for Khan. 90 years should do nicely. Chapman faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years; Abdur-Raheem does not face a minimum term. Just make it a long time, please. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #5 The full text of the judges memorandum can be read here. Additional: A fourth defendant who had been on trial, Caliph Basha ibn Abdur-Raheem, was acquitted on all charges midway through the trial after Brinkema said she no saw evidence linking him to the conspiracy in any meaningful way. Six members of the alleged conspiracy have already pleaded guilty to various charges related to the alleged conspiracy. Four were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 4 years to 11 ½ years. Two others pleaded guilty and have yet to be sentenced, but face mandatory minimum sentences of 20 and 15 years. Five of those who entered guilty pleas testified for the prosecution at trial. Prosecutors could seek to have their sentences reduced if they are deemed to have cooperated with the investigation. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-3-5 3:42:17 PM |
| #4 LOL! That's too funny Shipman! |
| Posted by: Lil Dhimmi 2004-3-5 3:11:11 PM |
| #3 Jeez.... I'm gonna need the braille version of RB pretty quick. I thought the headline said Pinball Jihadis. Use the flippers in a game of skill to keep the pinball from reaching the bus. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-3-5 11:54:50 AM |
| #2 Naawww, mjh, Brinkema's cool. You're just not used to a judge actually following the law. ;-) |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-3-5 11:07:53 AM |
| #1 Wow...I stand corrected on Brinkema. I had thought she was a card carrying member of the LLL when she threw out some government evidence. But...I hereby eat crow and apologize for mis-judging her. |
| Posted by: mjh 2004-3-5 10:55:04 AM |