Thursday, August 21, 2014

Tarek Mehanna Massachusetts Mall Attack Plot

Tarek Mehanna Massachusetts Mall Attack Plot ---
tags: Shopping Mall Market, militant islamist, FBI, guilty, Massachusetts, terrorism, free speech, social injustice

March 17, 2010 Tarek Mehanna Massachusetts Mall Attack Plot Arrested after FBI uncovered a plot for an assault rifle massacre of shoppers in North Attleboro’s Emerald Square Mall,  but the plan was abandoned it when they could not get weapons.

An FBI agent assigned to his case recounted in court filings how “Mehanna and his coconspirators, who shared videos and took real pleasure in the deaths of American servicemen, seemed to delight in the most horrific atrocities.” The Feds intercepted online conversations in which Mehanna gleefully urges his friends to check out a terrorist video he found online where Al Qaeda fighters in Iraq rip open the ribcages of US soldiers, pour gasoline in their chest cavities and set them on fire. “[N]ice juicy BBQ,” Mehanna gloated to his friends. “Texas BBQ is the way to go. I want more BBQ sauce videos.” Tarek Mehanna, a Sudbury native, is currently serving a 23 year sentence in Federal prison for conspiracy to provide material support to Al Qaeda, conspiracy to murder in a foreign country, and lying to the FBI about his attempts to join up with Al Qaeda in Yemen.  was convicted in 2011 in federal court in Boston of multiple counts of supporting terrorism. His  lawyers argued he was prosecuted for expressing his own beliefs protected by the First Amendment, and asked the Supreme court to consider his case for an unjust prosecution

The mall plot: (NPR):  It is alleged that there were multiple conversations about obtaining weapons and randomly shooting people in a shopping mall," acting U.S. Attorney Michael Loucks said in announcing the charges two years ago. "This mall assault planning consisted of the logistics of a malls attack, the coordination of an assault from different entrances, weapons needed for such an assault and the possibility of attacking emergency responders." But that plot, randomly shooting people at a shopping mall, never happened. It fact, everyone seems to agree it never got much past the discussion stage and just how much Mehanna was involved in that plot is in dispute, too.

*Timeline

March 17, 2010 Arrest: huffpost A Massachusetts man and two friends tried and failed to get into terrorist training camps and then plotted to kill two prominent U.S. politicians and randomly shoot people at American shopping malls, authorities said Wednesday.. Mehanna was charged with conspiring with two other men – an American now in Syria and another man who is cooperating with authorities – to provide support to terrorists. Ultimately, the trio never came close to pulling off an attack. Authorities say they never got the terrorist training they sought... they abandoned the mall attack plans after their weapons contact said he could find only handguns, not automatic weapons. The men used code words such as "peanut butter and jelly" for fighting in Somalia and "culinary school" for terrorist camps,

*Topics

*Pharmacist:  He has a doctorate from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, where his father is a professor.

*Reference


  • Free Tarek Mehanna www.freetarek.com/ Tarek is described  by those who know him well as humble, reserved, warm, compassionate, intelligent, charismatic, well-read, and dedicated. He has spent time delivering Friday sermons and directing youth study circles, speaking out against injustice and advocating for Muslim prisoners, teaching grade school students and helping those in need.
  • Tarek Mehanna - Wikipedia Tarek Mehanna is an American pharmacist convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda, providing material support to terrorists  Involvement with Al-Qaeda and criminal prosecution[edit]

  • In 2004, Mehanna spent two weeks in Yemen, where prosecutors proved he tried but failed to seek out training in a militant training camp, with the aim of going to Iraq fighting with Iraqis against the US-led invasion and occupation. When he returned to the U.S., Mehanna began to translate and post online materials described by prosecutors as Al Qaeda propaganda.[4] Mehanna has said that he supports the right of Muslims to defend themselves.[5] His lawyers argued that his internet activities were protected under the U.S. First Amendment.[6]
  • US Attorney Carmen Ortiz led the prosecution of Mehanna. In April 2012, Mehanna was sentenced in federal court in Boston on four terrorism-related charges and three others related to lying to FBI and other U.S. federal officials. Before his sentence was determined, he made a statement described by journalists as "eloquent,"[5] and "passionate,"[7] the text of which was afterwards widely circulated online.[8][9]
  • Following Mehanna's sentencing, the ACLU released a statement saying that the suppression of unpopular ideas is contrary to American values, and that the verdict undermines the First Amendment.[10] Specifically, it stated, "Under the government's theory of the case, ordinary people--including writers and journalists, academic researchers, translators, and even ordinary web surfers--could be prosecuted for researching or translating controversial and unpopular ideas."
  • Mehanna appealed his case to the First Circuit Court of Appeals[11] — he lost. Judge Bruce Selya, writing for the 3-judge panel, found for the Government, saying that Mehanna had been "fairly tried, justly convicted, and lawfully sentenced."[12] "We think it virtually unarguable that rational jurors could find that the defendant and his associates went abroad to enlist in a terrorist training camp," the opinion said.[12]
  • Oral argument for the appeal was held on July 30, 2013 in Boston,[13] and the opinion issued on Nov. 13 of that year. At oral argument, Mehanna's side was argued by P. Sabin Willett, and the United States was represented by Liza Collery of the Department of Justice.[14]
  • Mehanna appealed his case to the Supreme Court on March 17, 2014.[15]
  • On March 18, 2014, Lyle Denniston of Scotusblog profiled the case, focusing on the Supreme Court appeal.[16] The Supreme Court has the discretion to choose whether or not to review cases from lower courts, and has no obligation to explain these decisions. The Department of Justice's response brief was filed on July 25, 2014.[17] After its summer recess, the Court will decide whether to review the case.
  • Denniston reported that Mehanna's lawyers would argue that while Mehanna was philosophically sympathetic to the tenets of al Qaeda, his translation of the documents was spontaneous — was not done at anyone's request, and this meant the translations weren't part of al Qaeda's operations.[16]


*Sources


  • Man charged in plot to attack U.S. shopping mall | Reuters

    www.reuters.com/.../us-security-usa-idUSTRE59K35320091021

    Reuters
    Oct 21, 2009 - Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, Massachusetts, is seen in this image from a video footage taken in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 11,  ...



  • Tarek Mehanna Massachusetts Mall Attack Plot Tarek ...

    https://plus.google.com/.../posts/FcLSSYTAyNg

    8 mins ago - Tarek Mehanna Massachusetts Mall Attack Plot --- tags: According to the FBI, Mehanna had planned an assault rifle massacre ofshoppers in North Attleboro's ...



  • FBI outlines case against Tarek Mehanna in terror plot ...

    www.csmonitor.com/.../p02s01-usju.html

    The Christian Science Monitor
    by Mark Clayton - Oct 22, 2009 - Massachusetts resident Tarek Mehanna, arrested Wednesday, plotted to attack Americans at a shopping mall, FBI says. Failing that, he tried ...



  • How the Government Smeared Tarek Mehanna | loonwatch ...

    www.loonwatch.com/.../how-the-government-smeared-tarek-mehanna/

    Apr 14, 2012 - Tarek Mehanna, a twenty-nine year old American Muslim pharmacist, was ... 2) the claim that he plotted to “shoot[] people at a shopping mall.”.



  • Boston Terror Arrest: Tarek Mehanna Arrested For Planning ...

    www.huffingtonpost.com/.../boston-terror-arrest-sud...

    The Huffington Post
    Mar 18, 2010 - ... training camps and then plotted to kill two prominent U.S. politicians and ... Tarek Mehanna Arrested For Planning Attacks On Shopping Malls.



  • Tarek Mehanna Sentenced to 17.5 Years on Terrorism ...

    www.justice.gov › Home › News

    United States Department of Justice
    Apr 12, 2012 - Following a two-hour hearing in U.S. District Court in Boston, Judge George A. O'Toole, Jr., sentenced Tarek Mehanna, 29, to 210 months,  ...



  • Boston Terror - Tarek Mehannashopping mall plot

    wikileaks.org/.../5494691_boston-terror-tarek-mehanna-shop...

    WikiLeaks
    Boston Terror - Tarek Mehannashopping mall plot. Released on 2013-11-15 00:00 GMT. Email-ID, 5494691. Date, 2009-10-21 16:23:22. From, Anya.



  • Massachusetts Man, 27, Is Charged in Terrorist Plot ...

    www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/us/22terror.html

    The New York Times
    Oct 21, 2009 - The man, Tarek Mehanna, 27, was charged with conspiracy to provide... He is had “multiple conversations” about an attack on the mall in the  ...



  • Tarek Mehanna | Public Radio International

    www.pri.org/person/tarek-mehanna

    Public Radio International
    A man has been charged with terrorism-related offenses that include plotting to kill people in an American shopping mallTarek Mehanna was charged with  ...



  • In Boston Terrorism Trial, A Free Speech Defense : NPR

    www.npr.org › News › US › Law

    NPR
    Oct 27, 2011 - But Tarek Mehanna's attorneys contend he was just exercising his First... But that plot, randomly shooting people at a shopping mall, never  ...



  • rightplanet

    Boston Globe ‎- 5 days ago
    The US Supreme Court will consider at a conference committee on Sept. 29 whether to hear the case of Tarek Mehanna, the Sudbury man .. was convicted in 2011 in federal court in Boston of multiple counts of supporting terrorism, though his lawyers argued he was prosecuted for expressing his own beliefs protected by the First Amendment.


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