Jose Padilla Latest American to Be Convicted of Terrorism Charges

According to the United States Department of Justice, Jose Padilla was convicted of a number of charges on August 16^th 2007 including providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, as well as kidnaping and maiming individuals in a foreign country.

Announced by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales on Thursday, Padilla is the latest United States citizen to be convicted of charges linked to terrorism. It is just sad and growing. On the news every day, one will hear a new case about a United States citizen who is being arrested for supporting terrorists who want to do harm to Americans. Sure it is a good thing they are being caught, but surely there are still tons of more American terrorists out there. The question is: Why are they all turning against us? They jury that charged Padilla today has also recently charged Padilla's co-defendants Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi with guilty verdicts. Among the charges of his co-defendants were also conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, providing material support to terrorists, and kidnaping and maiming individuals in a foreign country.

"The conviction of Jose Padilla - an American who provided material support to terrorists and trained for violent jihad - is a significant victory in our efforts to fight the threat posed by terrorists and their supporters," said Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. "I congratulate the prosecutors and investigators who worked tirelessly in this case. As this trial demonstrated, we will use our authority as prosecutors to dismantle terrorist networks and those who support them in the United States and abroad."

So what will Padilla and his two co-defendants face? They can actually face life in prison, which is their maximum sentence. U,S, District Judge Marcia Cooke of the Southern District of Florida will make the final decision of their fate on December 5^th, 2007.

Among Padilla's guilt results from a North American cell that took place in many different cities in the United States as well as Canada. The goal of these cells was to send mujahadeen recruits, money, and physical assets to jihad fights overseas. And that is not all. Padilla himself even went overseas fighting and training in violent jihad, as well as kidnaping, maiming, and murdering from October of 1993 until November of 2001.

"This case demonstrates that we will make full use of our intelligence and law enforcement authorities to prevent individuals - and particularly our own countrymen - from supporting and joining the ranks of our terrorist enemies," said Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. "America should take great pride in the work of the many investigators, agents and prosecutors whose diligence, creativity and perseverance led to today's successful verdict."