Daniel Pipes Blog  

Latest Posts  |  Archive  |  Entries by Topic  |  

Guilty Pleas By Would-Be Los Angeles Terrorists

by Daniel Pipes
Fri, 14 Dec 2007
updated Sun, 27 Jul 2008

Print

Send

Comment

RSS

Share:

After the arrest of terrorist suspects, the case often goes silent for so long that one forgets about them. I published a column on "L.A.'s Thwarted Terror Spree" over two years ago. Now, suddenly, Levar Haley Washington, 28, and Kevin James, 31, have reappeared in the news, having pleaded guilty to the charge of seditious conspiracy. Washington also pleaded guilty to using a firearm to further the conspiracy. Both face up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy charge and Washington could have an additional five years to life for the firearms offense.

The other two conspirators, Gregory Vernon Patterson and Hammad Riaz Samana, are charged with conspiracy to levy war against the U.S. government through terrorism, conspiracy to possess and discharge firearms in a violent crime, conspiracy to kill members of the U.S. government uniformed services, and conspiracy to kill foreign officials. In addition, Patterson is charged with a robbery count and using a firearm in a violent crime. Patterson is expected to plead guilty to a terrorism conspiracy charge on Dec. 17. Samana has been declared mentally unfit to stand trial.

Beyond the specifics of their fates, as the NEFA Foundation explains in "Guilty Pleas from Members of 'Al-Qaida of California'; Treasure Trove of Documents Released," there is much of interest in this case:

Kevin James and Levar Washington pled guilty to federal terrorism charges, admitting they plotted to attack United States military facilities, "infidels," and Israeli and Jewish facilities in the Los Angeles area. FBI official John Miller has commented, "of all of the terrorist plots since 9/11, it is probably the one that operationally was closest to actually occurring...they had selected targets. They had chosen dates. They had obtained weapons." And FBI Director Robert Mueller has revealed that the men "viewed themselves as ‘al Qaeda of California.'" Accompanying the plea agreements, prosecutors released a handful of documents, summarized here and here, that offer rare insight into the mindset of homegrown American jihadists. Most notable is Kevin James' 104-page "JIS Protocol," in which James writes that the "faithful mujahid...are commanded by Allah to battle against disbelievers..." James also authored "Blueprint 2005," in which he instructs recruits to "acquire two Weapons (pistols) with silencers" and "find contacts for explosives or learn bombmaking," as well as "Notoriety Moves," which "included a proposed statement to the press following attacks by JIS members." Finally, another defendant, Hammad Samana, who has been ruled mentally unfit to stand trial, authored a document titled "Modes of Attack" that listed addresses of possible targets.

NEFA Foundation provides more detail at "The L.A. Plot to Attack U.S. Military, Israeli Government, & Jewish Targets." (December 14, 2007)

Dec. 17, 2007 update: Sure enough, Gregory Patterson, 23, pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiring to levy war against the U.S. through terrorism and conspiring to possess and discharge firearms. He faces up to 25 years in prison. His sentencing will be on April 14.

June 23, 2008 update: Levar Washington, 30, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison.

Related Topics: African-American Muslims, Criminality, Muslims in the United States, Terrorism

Reader comments on this weblog entry

Comment on this weblog entry

Daniel Pipes Blog Homepage