Debra Wong Yang

US Attorney Debra Yang holds a news conference in Los Angeles to report that four arrested gas station robbers have been indicted for plotting terror attacks. The group was led by Kevin James, a US national and founder of Jam’iyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, a radical Islamic organization that identifies the US government and Jews as major targets. His co-conspirators are Levar Washington and Gregory Patterson, both US nationals, and Hammad Riaz Samana, a permanent US resident originally from Pakistan. [US Department of Justice, 8/31/2005] Washington was recruited by James while incarcerated at New Folsom Prison. Upon his release, he recruited Samana and Patterson at his mosque, Jamat-E-Masijidul Islam in Los Angeles. [New York Sun, 9/6/2005] Washington had pledged loyalty to James “until death by martyrdom” and sought to recruit men with bomb-making expertise. [ABC News, 9/13/2005] Yang sas that the four had purchased firearms and sought instructions for constructing bombs. She says that they were prepared to carry out attacks when two of them were arrested for robbing a gas station, allegedly to fund the operation. The indictment includes the eleven gas station robberies the men have allegedly carried out. [Reuters, 8/31/2005] The indictment alleges that the men conducted surveillance of military facilities, the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles, El-Al airlines, and synagogues. They planned to strike on the dates of Jewish holidays to maximize casualties. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez says that the men engaged in “identification of target locations, procurement of weapons, firearms and physical training, recruitment efforts, and financing operations through armed robberies.” [US Department of Justice, 8/31/2005] Police uncovered evidence of the plot when investigating the gas station robberies. [Council on Foreign Relations, 2/22/2007] Patterson dropped a mobile telephone during one robbery. Information from the phone triggered an FBI-led investigation that involved more than 25 agencies and 500 investigators. Police staked out Patterson and Washington, and arrested them after they robbed a Chevron station on July 5. A search of Washington’s apartment turned up bulletproof vests, knives, jihad literature, and lists of potential targets. There was further evidence indicating that Patterson was in the process of acquiring an AR-15 assault rifle. [New York Sun, 9/6/2005] Yang says that the “evidence in this case indicates that the conspirators were on the verge of launching their attack,” adding that the arrest has exposed “a chilling plot based on one man’s interpretation of Islam.” [Reuters, 8/31/2005] Many of the court documents are sealed, but it is known that the trial date was “continued” from October 24, 2006 to August 27, 2007. All four men plead not guilty. The order moving the trial date indicates that the evidence includes 40,000 pages of documents, “numerous” audio and visual tapes, and 14 computer hard drives. [MILNET, 9/30/2006] On December 14, 2007, James and Washington will plead guilty to domestic terrorism charges. There is no evidence presented during the trial that indicates the men had any contact with any extremist organizations, nor were they accused of this. The two will admit that they conspired “to levy war against (the US government) through terrorism.” James faces up to 20 years in federal prison and Washington could be sentenced to up to 25 years. Patterson is also expected to plead guilty to terrorism charges. Samana is found unfit to stand trial and is receiving psychiatric care at a federal prison. [MSNBC, 12/14/2007]