In rare case, Pa. woman accused of aiding terror

[David]

AP


PHILADELPHIA – An indictment against a suburban Philadelphia woman accused of recruiting jihadist fighters online and moving to Europe to try to kill a Swedish artist is a rare case of an American woman aiding foreign terrorists, authorities say, and shows the evolution of the threat of terrorism.

Colleen R. LaRose agreed to murder the artist, marry a terrorism suspect so he could move to Europe and martyr herself if necessary, the indictment filed Tuesday said.

LaRose, who called herself JihadJane online, is "one of only a few such cases nationwide in which females have been charged with terrorism violations," said U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Dean Boyd.

LaRose, 46, of Pennsburg, Pa., has been held without bail since her Oct. 15 arrest in Philadelphia.

Authorities said the case shows how terror groups are looking to recruit Americans to carry out their goals.

"Today's indictment, which alleges that a woman from suburban America agreed to carry out murder overseas and to provide material support to terrorists, underscores the evolving nature of the threat we face," said David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security.

LaRose had targeted Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks and had online discussions about her plans with at least one of several suspects apprehended over that plot Tuesday in Ireland, according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to discuss details of the investigation.

A U.S. Department of Justice spokesman wouldn't confirm the case is related to Vilks, who angered Muslims by depicting the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog.

The indictment charges that LaRose, who also used the name Fatima LaRose online, agreed to kill the target on orders from the unnamed terrorists she met online, and traveled to Europe in August to do so. Court documents don't say whether the person was killed, but LaRose was not charged with murder.

LaRose indicated in her online conversations that she thought her blond hair and blue eyes would help her move freely in Sweden to carry out the attack, the indictment said.

LaRose is a convert to Islam who actively recruited others, including at least one unidentified American, and her online messages expressed her willingness to become a martyr and her impatience to take action, according to the indictment and the U.S. official.

Killing the target would be her goal "till I achieve it or die trying," she wrote a south Asian suspect in March 2009, according to the indictment.

Her federal public defender, Mark T. Wilson, declined to comment Tuesday.

U.S. Attorney Michael Levy said the indictment doesn't link LaRose to any organized terror groups. He would not comment on whether other arrests were expected.

In recent years, the only other women charged in the U.S. with terror violations were lawyer Lynne Stewart, convicted of helping imprisoned blind Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman communicate with his followers, and Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist found guilty of shooting at U.S. personnel in Afghanistan while yelling, "Death to Americans!"

But neither case involved the kind of plotting attributed to LaRose — a woman charged with trying to foment a terror conspiracy to kill someone overseas.

Stewart has insisted she is "not a traitor," while Siddiqui has accused U.S. authorities of lying about her.

LaRose called herself JihadJane in a YouTube video in which she said she was "desperate to do something somehow to help" ease the suffering of Muslims, the indictment said. According to the 11-page document, she agreed to obtain residency in a European country and marry one of the terrorists to enable him to live there.

She moved to Europe in August 2009 with a U.S. passport stolen from a male friend and intended to give it to one of her "brothers," the indictment said. She hoped to "live and train with jihadists and to find and kill" the targeted artist, it said.

LaRose also agreed to provide financial help to her coconspirators in Asia and Europe, the indictment charged.

LaRose had an initial court appearance on Oct. 16 but didn't enter a plea. No further court dates have been set.













This image provided by the SITE Intelligence Group shows Colleen LaRose an American woman from Pennsylvania indicted Tuesday March 9, 2010 accused of using the Internet to recruit jihadist fighters and help terrorists overseas.

[revwardoc]

I don't understand the appeal of Islam, especially to a woman. I personally know of a woman who married an Iraqi and after putting up with his crap for 3 years finally divorced him. Fortunately no children.

I just hope they can get her for treason or at least turn her over to the Swedes for conspiracy to commit murder.

[revwardoc]

Here's a link to the indictment:

http://static.cbslocal.com/station/kyw/indictment.pdf

[darrels joy]

JihadJane's 'cohort' a 2nd Blond Bomber

By TODD VENEZIA
Last Updated: 11:04 AM, March 13, 2010
Posted: 3:13 AM, March 13, 2010

Authorities have captured a second "JihadJane" -- a Colorado woman who allegedly got mixed up in an international plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist after converting to Islam and marrying a Muslim man in New York, according to a report.

Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, 31, was being questioned in Ireland along with six other people in the scheme to off Lars Vilks, who outraged many by depicting the prophet Mohammed as a dog in his drawings, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

"I'm angry with her right now," said Paulin-Ramirez's mom, Christine Holcomb-Mott. "I'd like to just choke her. But I'm worried about her, too. I love my daughter."

The original "JihadJane," Colleeen LaRose, 46, of suburban Philadelphia allegedly agreed to move to Sweden to help kill Vilks and has been in federal custody since October.

One of the men in custody, an Algerian, is believed to be LaRose's main contact. He also has a relationship with Paulin-Ramirez, but it is not clear if they are married, according to the paper.

Paulin-Ramirez, a Kansas City-born mom of a 6-year-old boy, allegedly went from average American to Islamo-loon in the span of a year -- with her interest in the religion coming out of "left field."

The Colorado woman, who has not been charged, started taking classes on Islam and posting messages on Facebook such as "STOP caLLing MUSLIMS TERRORISTS!"

She even updated her profile to show her wearing a black veil that covered everything but her eyes.

Paulin-Ramirez became so radical that at one point her stepfather, himself a convert to Islam, became worried, according to the Journal.

He confronted her, saying: "What are you going to do, strap a bomb on and blow up something?"

According to the Journal, she responded by saying, "If necessary, yes."

Her aunt, Cindy Holcomb Jones, said that when she saw pictures of LaRose wearing Islamic garb after the arrest last week, she immedately thought of her niece.

"When I saw pictures of that woman, I thought -- that's what Jamie is doing. Jamie is wearing the same outfit that woman is wearing."

Paulin-Ramirez told her family that she converted to Islam last Easter.

About the same time, she enrolled in a course in Islam at Colorado Mountain College.

By May 2009, she was so into Islamic fundamentalism that she wanted to wear a scarf-style veil to her dad's funeral, but her aunts pleaded with her not to.

Paulin-Ramirez later spent the summer endlessly talking online about Islam and began wearing a Saudi-style head cover, the paper said.

She then vanished with her son last Sept. 11 from her home in Leadville, Colo., leaving behind a $31,000-a-year job as a medical assistant.

She is believed to have first gone to Denver and then on to New York. Afterwards, Paulin-Ramirez sent her parents a forwarding address in Waterford, Ireland.

Her family went to police and told them they feared she had been radicalized. They also feared the boy was being brainwashed to become a "terrorist," the Journal reported.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/nationa...FsTRkeSln6z2HK

[darrels joy]

Rusty Vindicated? Watchdogs Important in Catching Some Terrorists


And yet more naval gazing for Rusty in which I link an article in which I'm quoted extensively. It's here in the Philly Enquirer. Instead of quoting myself from the article, how about I drop this quote in for the sake of "righterthanyou"?

Philadelphia FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver would not confirm whether a tip from the Web watcher led to the LaRose investigation.

But former U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said last night: "I'm aware and know that there certainly was a role in this case served by such a group in alerting the federal authorities."

Meehan, who left office in 2008, said online tipsters are natural descendants of the "eyes and ears" community contacts who tipped off police to crime rackets, drug deals, and other impending crimes.

"With the amount of things that fly around online, it is impossible for law enforcement to be all things to all people," Meehan said. "This relationship is supportive and, in cases such as this, has proved to be vital in leading to an arrest."

A federal official involved in counterterrorism who did not want to be identified said the volume of Internet traffic "is insane," adding, "The question is, how do you know which posts are for real? You don't. You just have to hope you are right."

READ THE REST.


PS -- You guys at the Inquirer don't know how to link?

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/201518.php

[darrels joy]

KDVR: Four people, including an American woman, arrested over an alleged plot to assassinate Swedish artist Lars Vilks have been freed without charge, but three others remain in custody, Irish police said Saturday.

http://www.breitbart.tv/update-color...r-plot-arrest/

[darrels joy]

A federal judge in Philadelphia postponed the trial of a Colorado woman charged in a global terror plot, and a defense lawyer held out the possibility of a plea deal.

The judge declared the case complex and indefinitely postponed the trial of to give lawyers time to prepare.

Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, 31, of Leadville, along with another American woman who faces similar charges mostly avoided glancing at each other at their first joint court appearance Monday.

Prosecutors are asking the judge to review some of the massive computer evidence to see if any is classified and determine what must be turned over to defense lawyers. The judge will meet with prosecutors on May 19.

Paulin-Ramirez and Colleen LaRose, 46, of Pennsburg, Penn., have both pleaded not guilty to charges they helped foreign terror suspects intent on starting a holy war in Europe and South Asia.

Paulin-Ramirez and her new Algerian husband were among a group of seven terror suspects rounded up in Ireland in March, hours before federal prosecutors announced that LaRose had been in custody in Pennsylvania since November.

"It's still a possibility that she will go to trial," said LaRose's lawyer, public defender Mark Wilson. "The other option is that they would both plead guilty."

LaRose, who allegedly used the online screen names "Jihad Jane" and "Fatima LaRose," had for at least a time cooperated with authorities after her arrest, a Pennsylvania congressman has said. She is facing a potential life sentence if convicted on a charge she had agreed to kill a Swedish cartoonist who had offended Muslims.

On Monday, LaRose smiled broadly at the public defenders assigned to her case as she entered the courtroom in a prison jumpsuit and with an untamed mane of long, bleached-blond hair. By contrast, Paulin-Ramirez sat dour-faced behind wire-framed glasses, her light brown hair braided down her back.

The indictment alleges that the twice-divorced LaRose, who cared for her boyfriend's elderly father in their small-town apartment, grew obsessed with radical Islamists online and agreed to raise funds for them and recruit others before moving overseas in the fall.

Among those she allegedly recruited was Paulin-Ramirez, a single mother who also spent long hours on the Internet before moving to Ireland with her 6-year-old son and marrying a terror suspect from Algeria the day she arrived.

She is now pregnant, and her son is in protective custody.

"She wants him to have the opportunity to have as stress-free a life as he can, given his mom's situation," said her lawyer, Jeremy Ibrahim. "I have visited with him. We are thankful to the government for putting him in a very loving and safe and caring environment."

Paulin-Ramirez faces a maximum 15-year term if convicted of aiding terrorists.

The case involves a huge cache of computer evidence, some of which may be deemed classified because of national security concerns.

U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker will first screen the potentially classified evidence before deciding what must be turned over to the defense. Tucker plans to meet with prosecutors on May 19 and with both sides the next day.

LaRose answered a few routine questions from the judge, but Paulin-Ramirez declined to speak to avoid giving prosecutors a voice sample they could compare to any recordings they might have. Ibrahim, in what he called an "excess of caution," instead had her nod or shake her head.

The voluminous computer evidence takes up about a dozen hard drives, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said in court.

The process of asking the judge to screen the potentially classified information allows prosecutors to be as candid as possible about the evidence, according to Ibrahim, a former Justice Department lawyer.

"At the end of the day, it's better for everyone," he said. "It takes away the specter of the government hiding anything."

Neither woman had any friends or family members in the courtroom.

Paulin-Ramirez's mother cannot afford to make the trip to Philadelphia, Ibrahim said. LaRose's former live-in boyfriend has said she skipped town without a word after his father died. He said he had no hint of her interest in Islam.

http://cbs4denver.com/local/jamie.pa...2.1671393.html

[darrels joy]

Lawyer: Woman called 'Jihad Jane' plans to plead guilty





CNN

(CNN) -- Colleen LaRose, the woman who authorities say called herself "Jihad Jane" on YouTube, has changed her mind about fighting government charges that she was plotting to wage violent jihad overseas.

Her attorney, Mark Wilson, told CNN Friday "she is going to plead guilty" at a change-of-plea hearing next week in Philadelphia federal court.

LaRose was indicted in 2009 on four counts, including conspiring to support terrorists and kill someone overseas. She was allegedly part of a plot to murder Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who outraged some by depicting the prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog in 2007.

Five other co-conspirators were allegedly involved, but never named by the government.

LaRose also is accused of lying to a federal agent and attempted identity theft. She faces a possible sentence of life in prison.

Wilson would not comment about whether his client has been cooperating with authorities in hopes of avoiding the possibility of spending the rest of her life behind bars.

"I share the same hope that she does, that she will be out of jail sooner than later," Wilson said. He does not think LaRose will be freed after being given credit for time served.

She has spent nearly two years behind bars since her arrest.

"She will do time," Wilson added.

Rusty will be along with an update....but he works for a living...not like us hobos who blog for him and live under the railroad bridge.

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/206067.php

[darrels joy]

Jihad Jane's (aka Colleen LaRose) Bud Jihad Jamie (aka Jamie Paulin-Ramirez) to Plead Guilty to Terrorism Charge




The HuffPo wonders if Rep. King will start targeting 'white women'. What makes them think white women/men aren't Muslims? Racists!!!

The crew at YouTube Smackdown aided in the arrest of Jihad Jane, who plead guilty in February. Icing, meet cake:


SeattleTimes

PHILADELPHIA — A defense lawyer says a U.S. woman charged with aiding foreign terror suspects she had met online will plead guilty to a terrorism charge Tuesday in Philadelphia.
Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, of Leadville, Colo., faces up to 15 years in prison for conspiring to aid terrorists.

Federal prosecutors say she and Colleen LaRose, a Pennsylvania woman who dubbed herself "Jihad Jane" online, took steps to help incite a holy war in Europe and South Asia.

Hmmm, I wonder who Jihad Jamie ratted out? Also, will she get to share a cell with her lover Jihad Jane?


See this post for a background on our role in this case and an exclusive interview with the real guy who turned in Jihad Jane, or checkout our Jihad Jane archives.

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/206700.php