Is Ohio a Breeding Ground for Terrorists?

Three men from Ohio (Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan Othman El-Hindi, and Wassim I. Mazloum) and one man from Chicago (Zubair A. Ahmed) were arrested in February 2006 and arraigned April 24th for charges of plotting to recruit and train terrorists to attack U.S and allied troops overseas. The three men from Ohio pleaded not guilty, as well as the Chicago man.

The Chicago man, Ahmed, was arrested with a cousin (Khaleel Ahmed) who also lived in Chicago. Both men are citizens of the United States and were accused of plotting acts of terrorism overseas, just as the three men from Toledo, Ohio were accused. The conspiracy they are all being charged with allegedly included seeking out certain sites for training in hand-to-hand combat, the use of explosives, and firearm training, as well as finding other recruits to commit terrorist acts. All men were accused of downloading information via the internet about improvised explosive devices and agreeing to raise money for training purposes.

Prosecutors stated that even though the men were here legally, they conspired to "kill or maim persons in locations outside of the United States, to including U.S. armed forces personnel serving in Iraq." They also stated that in 2004, the two Chicago cousins met with El-Hindi and a former U.S military personnel. The former U.S military personnel was used to help foil the alleged plot between the men. Apparently in July 2004, the men met at a Muslim convention in Cleveland, Ohio where they spoke about counter surveillance techniques, sniper tactics, and using heavy machine guns.

So how do all five men fit together? Prosecutors stated that the two cousins from Chicago had traveled to Egypt in May 2004 with plans on attacking U.S soldiers in Afghanistan or Iraq. Lucky for them, El-Hindi intercepted them and convinced them that they were not yet ready to fight. El-Hindi then recruited the cousins for his terrorist cell in Toledo. A month later is when they all met once again at the Muslim convention in Cleveland.

If convicted, all five men face a maximum penalty of life in prison for conspiring to kill Americans overseas. The three men from Ohio were all charged with conspiring to provide support to terrorists. Amawi, was also charged with unlawful distribution of a video that dealt with suicide bomber vests, as well as verbally threatening President George W. Bush. To top off the list of charges, both Amawi and El-Hindi were charged with the distribution of information that they download online that dealt with explosive chemicals.

The two cousins from Chicago have been released on bond until their trial in January of 2008. U.S District Judge James Carr stated that he released the two men on bond since "they had known for a year they and others were under investigation, but did not attempt to flee". Carr also stated that the prosecutors did not present any evidence against the men. Their bond was set at $500,000 each and also ordered that both men be under 24-hour electronic monitoring once released.

The separate attorneys for the men have made various comments in defense of their clients, such as Zubair Ahmed only spoke about guns and there was never any talk about Jihad or the killing of Americans overseas. The attorney for El-Hindi also stated that the informant that was used for the Government overreached and instigated the investigation as well as possibly creating a vast majority of the case.

All men pleaded not guilty and are currently awaiting their trials.

*Sources*

-Columbus Dispatch Online. URL: http://columbusdispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/04/24/terror.html . AP. 2007Apr24.

-ABC7 Chicago. URL: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5242032 . AP. 2007Apr24.