There has been some debate over the past few years about how best to deal with American-born or naturalized citizens who betray the nation and join terrorist organizations.
Many Americans think such individuals should be stripped of their U.S. citizenship, given their betrayal of the nation. But it would appear that at least one liberal federal judge believes such a punishment for waging war against one’s own country is a step too far.
According to Fox News, that seemed to be the opinion of federal District Court Judge Staci Yandle — appointed in 2014 by former President Barack Obama — who rejected a bid by the government to strip the citizenship from a convicted terrorist who is drawing near a scheduled release date from federal prison.
That convicted terrorist is Iyman Faris, 49, a Pakistani man who obtained U.S. citizenship in 1999, worked as a truck driver in Ohio and was married to an American woman for a time.
Faris was arrested and ultimately convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2003 for the crime of aiding and abetting the al-Qaida terrorist organization by conducting surveillance on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City as part of a plot to cut the support cables for the famous structure.
At his trial it was shown that Faris had met with former al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden and had personally worked with Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the architect of the 9/11 terror attacks. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]A graduate of Berkeley High School in California, who reportedly told authorities he wanted to help ISIS kill 10,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area, pleaded guilty to federal charges Wednesday, while his attorney claimed he was a victim of the “system.”
Amer Sinan Alhaggagi, 23, of Oakland, pleaded guilty in federal court to trying to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, possession of device-making equipment and identity theft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI announced.
Authorities arrested Alhaggagi in November 2016 after he bought clothes online with a phony credit card, but he was held so federal authorities could continue to investigate him, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
An Oakland man accused of plotting bomb attacks inspired by #ISIS in San Francisco and the East Bay pleaded guilty to several felony charges despite claims by his attorneys that he has no affiliation with terrorists.
via @EvanSernoffsky: https://t.co/QErfT2Afpi
— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) July 18, 2018
Alhaggagi allegedly opened several Twitter and Facebook accounts in 2016 for ISIS supporters. He then allegedly told an undercover FBI agent that he wanted to kill 10,000 people in the Bay Area with bombs and rat-poison-laced cocaine, the Chronicle reported, citing court documents. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]A U.S. citizen suspected of fighting for the Islamic State was captured on a battlefield in northern Syria earlier this month, according to U.S. officials from multiple agencies.
The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces picked up Ibraheem Musaibli, a 28-year-old man from Dearborn, Michigan, earlier this month as he was attempting to flee the Middle Euphrates River Valley, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Musaibli is expected to be brought to the U.S. for prosecution, along with Samantha Elhassani, an Indiana woman whose husband joined ISIS.
Both individuals have already been indicted in sealed court proceedings, The Times explained.
Musaibli is apparently facing potential charges of supporting an extremist group.
As for Elhassani, after her husband died fighting for the Islamic State, she and her children fled to a refugee camp.
Her 10-year-old son reportedly made an appearance in an ISIS propaganda video, in which he pledged to carry out attacks in the West. – READ MORE
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