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http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/8/14/83400.shtml?s=us
Man Pleads Guilty to Oregon Terror Camp Charges
NewsMax.com Wires Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2007
NEW YORK -- An American credited with playing a key part in a probe of an
Oregon terror training camp pleaded guilty to terrorism charges Monday,
admitting his role after his violation of a plea agreement let the
government bring more serious charges against him.
James Ujaama, a Muslim convert from Seattle, said he tried to set up the
camp in Bly, Ore., in 1999 and notified a radical Islamic cleric in Britain
that he and others were stockpiling weapons and ammunition in the United
States.
He also admitted that between June 2000 and Dec. 19, 2001, he tried to raise
money and provide other help to terrorists in Afghanistan.
Ujaama's lawyer, Peter Offenbecher, declined to comment.
The plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to conspiracy to provide
material support to terrorists and providing material support or resources
to terrorists exposed Ujaama, 41, to a potential prison sentence of up to 30
years.
U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan set sentencing for Dec. 12.
Ujaama was once a prized government cooperator. He pleaded guilty in April
2003 in Seattle to lesser charges of conspiring to provide cash, computers
and fighters to the Taliban. He served two years in prison and agreed to
cooperate with terrorism investigations until 2013.
Federal officials have called Ujaama's help crucial in the 2004 indictment
of Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri on charges of trying to establish the
training camp and providing aid to al-Qaida.
Al-Masri was arrested in England on a U.S. extradition warrant but has since
been sentenced to seven years in jail there for inciting followers to kill
non-Muslims. Also charged in the terror-camp case are Haroon Rashid Aswat,
who is being held in England, and Oussama Kassir, who is being held in the
Czech Republic.
Ujaama was returned to prison in February for violating parole by traveling
to Belize with a fake Mexican passport.
Ujaama said Monday he fled because he did not want to testify in a case in
federal court in Manhattan pending against al-Masri.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein in Seattle found he
had violated his 2003 plea agreement, an action that permitted the federal
government to restore terrorism charges against him.
The indictment said that while in Bly, Kassir and others discussed a plan to
kill truck drivers traveling through Oregon and then steal their cargo for
money and goods to support the training camp. It said Kassir and Aswat tried
to train others on how to make bombs and poisons.
Oregon authorities have said the Bly camp never materialized beyond a dozen
people taking target practice.
Man Pleads Guilty to Oregon Terror Camp Charges
NewsMax.com Wires Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2007
NEW YORK -- An American credited with playing a key part in a probe of an
Oregon terror training camp pleaded guilty to terrorism charges Monday,
admitting his role after his violation of a plea agreement let the
government bring more serious charges against him.
James Ujaama, a Muslim convert from Seattle, said he tried to set up the
camp in Bly, Ore., in 1999 and notified a radical Islamic cleric in Britain
that he and others were stockpiling weapons and ammunition in the United
States.
He also admitted that between June 2000 and Dec. 19, 2001, he tried to raise
money and provide other help to terrorists in Afghanistan.
Ujaama's lawyer, Peter Offenbecher, declined to comment.
The plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to conspiracy to provide
material support to terrorists and providing material support or resources
to terrorists exposed Ujaama, 41, to a potential prison sentence of up to 30
years.
U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan set sentencing for Dec. 12.
Ujaama was once a prized government cooperator. He pleaded guilty in April
2003 in Seattle to lesser charges of conspiring to provide cash, computers
and fighters to the Taliban. He served two years in prison and agreed to
cooperate with terrorism investigations until 2013.
Federal officials have called Ujaama's help crucial in the 2004 indictment
of Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri on charges of trying to establish the
training camp and providing aid to al-Qaida.
Al-Masri was arrested in England on a U.S. extradition warrant but has since
been sentenced to seven years in jail there for inciting followers to kill
non-Muslims. Also charged in the terror-camp case are Haroon Rashid Aswat,
who is being held in England, and Oussama Kassir, who is being held in the
Czech Republic.
Ujaama was returned to prison in February for violating parole by traveling
to Belize with a fake Mexican passport.
Ujaama said Monday he fled because he did not want to testify in a case in
federal court in Manhattan pending against al-Masri.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein in Seattle found he
had violated his 2003 plea agreement, an action that permitted the federal
government to restore terrorism charges against him.
The indictment said that while in Bly, Kassir and others discussed a plan to
kill truck drivers traveling through Oregon and then steal their cargo for
money and goods to support the training camp. It said Kassir and Aswat tried
to train others on how to make bombs and poisons.
Oregon authorities have said the Bly camp never materialized beyond a dozen
people taking target practice.
