PHILADELPHIA — A suburban woman “desperate to do something” to help suffering Muslims has been accused of using the Internet to recruit jihadist fighters and help terrorists overseas, even agreeing to move to Europe to try to kill a Swedish artist, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Authorities said the case shows how terror groups are looking to recruit Americans to carry out their goals.
A federal indictment charges that Colleen R. LaRose, who called herself JihadJane and Fatima LaRose online, agreed to kill the Swede on orders from the unnamed terrorists and traveled to Europe to carry out the killing. It doesn’t say whether the Swede was killed, but LaRose was not charged with murder.
Records show that before moving to Pennsylvania, LaRose lived in several Texas towns — including San Angelo and Corpus Christi — where she had a minor criminal record that included a charge for theft, the New York Times reported online.
A U.S. Department of Justice spokesman wouldn’t confirm the case is related to a group of people arrested in Ireland earlier Tuesday on suspicion of plotting against Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who depicted the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog.
But a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity said LaRose had targeted the Swedish cartoonist and had online discussions about her plans with at least one of the suspects apprehended in Ireland. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the investigation.
LaRose, who has blond hair and blue eyes, indicated in her online conversations that she thought her appearance would help her move freely in Sweden to carry out the attack, the indictment said.
In a February 2009 online message to a co-conspirator in south Asia, she said her physical appearance would allow her to “blend in with many people,” which “may be a way to achieve what is in my heart,” 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.
“I will make this (killing the artist) my goal till I achieve it or die trying,” she wrote another south Asian suspect in March 2009, according to the indictment.
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.
LaRose, 46, lived in Pennsburg, Montgomery County, Pa., before moving to Europe in August 2009, authorities said.
She 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 traveled abroad 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.
“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 also agreed to provide financial help to her co-conspirators in Asia and Europe, the indictment charged.
LaRose has been in federal custody since her Oct. 15 arrest in Philadelphia, authorities said. She had an initial court appearance the next day but didn’t enter a plea.
Her federal public defender Mark T. Wilson declined to comment Tuesday.
Department of Justice spokesman Dean Boyd said the case represents “one of only a few such cases nationwide in which females have been charged with terrorism violations.” He declined to comment further on it.
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 of those cases 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.
———
Associated Press Writer Devlin Barrett contributed to this report from Washington.
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Comments » 38
anthony_m1919 writes:
Figures
steel_hook_prosthesis writes:
I think this picture speaks volumes & gives us all something to think about. . .
http://www.atheistheaven.com/_img/shi...
ingleone writes:
We need more Islamic diversity on our city council. Lay out the prayer rugs at the city offices and council meetings. Remember the good ol’ Islamic prayers of yesteryear?
lancerkid15#210668 writes:
What the picture SHOULD say is:
IMAGINE NO RELIGIOUS EXTREMISTS
Religion is not the problem. Militant extremists, who use, and hijack religion to justify their violence against others, are the problem.
Jesusfreak writes:
This country was founded on God & belief in the Bible. I say that if you want to believe in stupid stuff like allah ... GET OUT OF THIS COUNTRY!
Want to stop plane hijackings ???? Make every person say that allah is stupid before they board a plane. PROBLEM SOLVED!
When are Americans going to wake up & realize that our idiot person who somehow got elected is a stupid muslim & our country is now going to go KAPUT due to it. Ship them all back to their country of origin & get back to getting this country on track. ALL politicians need to be evaluated on where their loyalties lie & if it isn't with God 1st & the people of the country 2nd, they need to be voted out.
Godblessamericans writes:
With more and more liberal views in society we are going to see more and more extremism, so keep letting those Christian values slip and we will be in a world of hurt. David Koresh, FLDS, JIHAD JANE, CRAZY IRS plane crasher's, and psycho Psychologists’ how much more stuff like this can Texas produce without someone saying what in the world is going on in Texas.
san_angelo_ex_pat writes:
"When are Americans going to wake up & realize that our idiot person who somehow got elected is a stupid muslim..."
Moronic.
conchorebel writes:
steel hook
You may not believe in God but he believes in you. Trite but true.
Jesusfreak writes:
Moronic ???? Really ??? Yes you are if you don't believe that obama-the-idiot is truly a muslim who does NOT have this country's best interest at heart. he is on the side of the stupid muslims and islams becuse that is how he was raised. Even his "so-called" Christian church was nothing more than a giant form for racism. And now we have some other muslim idiot trying to get governor of Texas ??? Why don't all you liberals just hand over the keys to your house to the terrorists ??? Before you get your undies in a wad about the horrors of Republicans, let it be known that they are idiots also !!!!!!! BUT at least they are not handing over our country to a bunch of people only out to destroy us !!!!
san_angelo_ex_pat writes:
Moronic. Yes. Really.
sasaintshockey#232609 writes:
Jesusfreak--i assume from your posts that you believe in Jesus? If this is correct, do you really think that you are doing that justice by judging and name calling? As I recall that isn't in the bible...in fact the opposite...
KayTee writes:
You bring shame to your moniker. You're a bigot, pure and simple and apparently quite proud of it. I hope you at least keep your robe and hood hidden from your children.
"And now we have some other muslim idiot trying to get governor of Texas ???"
The man you speak of is a Quaker. If this were a 'front' simply for appearances, he would be considered an infidel by Muslims. Educate yourself.
san_angelo_ex_pat writes:
"Educate yourself."
I'm not sure that is possible.
Godblessamericans writes:
Sounds to me the terrorist have their hold in Texas! What's next?
Einar writes:
Send her to Allah (non existent) with a third eye or rope necklace.
Auto writes:
The American Knights are a good christian group
They have many good ideas..I have attnded some of there revivals in Abilene,soon to be here in SA.
crankshaft writes:
Some news sources are reporting the she was born in San Angelo. If so does she still have family here?
KayTee writes:
"..soon to be here in SA."
Where there are ignorant fool rednecks, there will always be KKK. They go together like peanut butter & jelly. To call them a 'good Christian group' is an insult to all Christians. Even the pedophilic priests are laughing at that absurdity.
lancerkid15#210668 writes:
She was arrested in Tom Green County for DWI on 6/26/1997:
justice.co.tom-green.tx.us/Scripts/UVlink.isa/tgcrisc/WEBSERV/JailSearch?action%253Dview%26track%253D229179
She has an open warrant since 97' for theft (checks-insufficient funds):
Search criminal cases for: Larose, Col
I guess she was known as Colleen R. Cavazos around here.
Interesting.....I wonder who she was hanging out with around here.....did/do they believe as she does when it comes to promoting jihad?
Godblessamericans writes:
hmmmmmmmmmmm where is the mosque in San Angelo again?
jncparker4#241150 writes:
Why isn't the Standard Times giving us info? I found this on the web. http://warintel.blogspot.com/2010/03/... She's not listed in Central's 1981 yearbook anywhere. She should have graduated in either '81 or '82 by her dob.
Godblessamericans writes:
You really have to ask why?
crankshaft writes:
This is an Associated Press story, not Standard Times.
Shorebreak writes:
Sure are a lot of pathetic posts here from those who profess to be followers of Christ but, in reality, are merely a bunch of hate mongers, misfits, and sociopaths.
san_angelo_ex_pat writes:
Yup. And apparently not terribly bright, either.
Barney writes:
One thing for certain about the followers of Christ around here.He seems to tell everyone something different from what He tells another person,even if the issue is about the same subject.That's not my opinion either,it's an observation.
theirmom writes:
Why does San Angelo only make national news for bad things?
Barney writes:
theirmom writes:
Why does San Angelo only make national news for bad things?
Nationally,bad news about Angelo goes way back.We even got "The Flying Fickle Finger Of Fate " award back in the sixties.
Godblessamericans writes:
I wonder the same thing!
Tonga writes:
This woman is an idiot with nothing better to do with her criminal life, than to kill somebody. Moron,..
redsoxfan writes:
Wow. This is perhaps the most ignorant, racist, unintelligent post I have ever read. This is extremist, even for San Angelo. Jesusfreak needs a history lesson. Our country wasn't found on "God" but freedom of religion (not jesus or allah, but freedom to worship who you choose). Look it up. It's in the Constitution.
Einar writes:
redsox fan- you need a history lesson. Try reading what the founding fathers really meant. They had no problem with states recognizing a specific religion and only limited the federal government from establishing one. All recognized the Christian religion as a basis for principle which were essential to the establishment of the new government and those principles to be critical to its survival. Read the real history of Washington, Franklin, Adams, Madison, Monroe, and yes Jefferson.
Kweats writes:
"redsoxfan" you got it right! Nothing you say will ever convince "Einar".Einar has the psychic ability to know what was in the minds of our founding fathers and what they really meant. What a comforting gift to have. To believe otherwise would shatter the core of what Einar wants to believe only on faith and selected facts to support that belief and discounting any facts to the contrary. Under our constitution Einar can believe anything that makes Einar comfortable. It needs to only be based on what Einar's personal concept of reality is.
steel_hook_prosthesis writes:
History shows that just about every organized religion has it's dark side & has been the catalyst of one misdeed or another.
Sure, for every one Islamic or Christian extremist, there are dozens of other believers who quietly worship, believe & lead good, honest lives.
However "belief" in itself can be dangerous when spread amongst an entire culture or people.
It would be like tossing a loaded gun in a crowd of people. Most would approach the weapon with caution, but all it takes is one or two reckless fanatics to inspire mayhem & bloodshed.
The truth is, none of these fanatics have any more evidence that their diety of choice approves of such activity than the peaceful, church going families - yet we are constantly threatened & intimidated by them, in the name of a concept they do not even understand, nor comprehend by any rational means.
It's the fanatics which ruin it for the others - true enough.
However I think it's in the best interest of ALL, that this kind of simplistic & archaic method of belief be phased out, as something which we no longer need as a modern society, something we as a species have outgrown.
san_angelo_ex_pat writes:
Indeed.
lancerkid15#210668 writes:
"However I think it's in the best interest of ALL, that this kind of simplistic & archaic method of belief be phased out, as something which we no longer need as a modern society, something we as a species have outgrown."
I think you are over-simplifying what "belief" is. You indicate religion is a "simplistic and archaic method of belief". Okay, thats fine.
If that is true, then one could just as easily argue that atheism/agnosticism is a "simplistic and archaic method of belief" as well.
Do you ever watch south park? They did a hilarious parody on atheism in the episode called "Go God Go". In that episode they demonstrate how there are fanatics and extremists tied to any sort of "belief".
From wikipedia, describing the episode:
"In the year 2546, the entire world is atheistic and supposedly dedicated to rationality and science, yet atheism itself has splintered into several mutually hostile denominations: bloodthirsty wars are waged in the name of "Science" and "Almighty Logic;" a very different depiction of the violence-free atheist world thought by Dawkins."
That takes me back to my point that religion (or any belief) is not the problem. Only the PEOPLE who take their "beliefs" to the extreme as to cause violence against others, are the problem.
The type of "belief", whether it be religious, or anti-religious, is irrelevant.
Einar writes:
HWEATS et all, I don't worry about reading the minds of our founding fathers, rather I have read their commentaries and biographies. I suggest that your try doing the same rather than popping off from ignorance.
steel_hook_prosthesis writes:
I'm a fan of both South Park & Dawkins!
I think we both agree that it's the extremists who screw things up for the rest.
True enough, people will always find something to fight & kill eachother over, whether it be religion, politics or some other trivial argument.
But, I have issue with the statement: "If that is true, then one could just as easily argue that atheism/agnosticism is a "simplistic and archaic method of belief" as well."
Atheism doesn't contain "belief", it's rather a negation of belief. Atheists may claim to have knowledge on one subject or another (e.g. evolution, geology), but these things are far cries from empty faith.
I've heard that calling Atheism a religion or belief system is like calling "bald" a hair color.
Agnosticism is the lazier bunch (in my opinion). They don't have the fortitude to seek knowledge, nor the guts to deny "faith". They don't "know", but are not strong enough in their convictions to sit on either side of the argument.
In short, Atheists simply don't give credence to belief, Agnostics avoid the dilemma altogether.
If people one day fight & battle over "science & logic", I'd say this is at least one step in the right direction.
I'd much rather see a wars break out over theories of relativity than superstition or the honor of one's supernatural hero.
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