• Thanks for stopping by. Logging in to a registered account will remove all generic ads. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.

"Jihad Jane" accused of recruiting terrorists online

CougarKing

Army.ca Fixture
Inactive
Reaction score
0
Points
360
What's scary is that there could be more just like her out there.  :o

Woman accused of recruiting jihadists online
AP

By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press Writer Maryclaire Dale, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 15 mins ago

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.

capt.109ad804505547d281d8dd80232387c5.american_terror_plot_ny108.jpg

This image provided by the SITE Intelligence Group shows Colleen LaRose an American woman from Pennsylvania indicted Tuesday March 9, 2010 accused of using the Internet to recruit jihadist fighters and help terrorists overseas. 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. (AP Photo/SITE Intelligence Group)
capt.photo_1268177114038-1-0.jpg

(AFP/FOX NEWS)
capt.photo_1268180116128-3-0.jpg

(AFP/WPVI TV)


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 link
 
This is the “new normal”.  Jihad Jane is the now.  Terrorist networks have evolved into more fluid, independent and autonomous groups lacking structure yet taking their inspiration from trans-national groups such as AQ and others.  AQ and other groups have transcended into a sort of virtual terrorist think-tank where all they have to do is provide the idea and let anyone with the will carry it out.  We are seeing the terrorist threat coming from small, autonomous, diffuse, micro actors rather than larger, more formalized and connected organizational entities such as AQ, JI, etc.  Globalization and the internet enable the transformation from angry individuals into small radicalized groups with an ability to network and exchange ideas, share experiences and foster each others radicalization, amplifying grievances, and intensifying members’ bonds.  Face-to-face radicalization has been replaced by online-radicalization and facilitated by a virtual market places for extremist ideas.  Think of the internet like a virtual bazaar or marketplace where terrorist ideas, TTPs, successes and failures are traded back and forth like currency or goods and services.  Today, amateurs like Jihad Jane have ready and easy access to the means and the methods of terrorism by entering into this virtual marketplace.  Terrorism has become accessible to anyone with a grievance, an agenda, a purpose, or any idiosyncratic combination of the above and is looking for the right inspiration and support to take action.  Jihad Jane is not the first and won’t be the last. 
 
MaDB0Y_021 said:
Well well... Some people are hardcore, man.
She's hard from hardcore, she just nuts, and if was not this incident, it would be something else.

OWDU
 
This poor soul is more sad than hardcore.  She has been convicted of swindling Pizza Hut and 7-11 out of 314.17  so i doubt she could finance too much terror . Her lady who lived across the hall says she spends time yelling and drilling her persian cats.  She also says she's never seen her in Arab dress before and that the pope is more muslim than her . Just another sad nut that fell through the cracks looking for her 15 mins of fame. IMHO.

Cheers
 
STONEY said:
Just another sad nut that fell through the cracks looking for her 15 mins of fame. IMHO.

Cheers

Well said/exactly!

That being said, lets throw th book at her  anyways :nod:

OWDU
 
I think a question should be added to the next census;  "would you prefer to live under Islamic law?"  Everyone who answers "yes" gets a free non return flight to Tehran.
 
Emigrate her and those who won't pledge alligengence to the maple leaf,we don't need them.
 
How about "fail to swear allegiance" to the Queen or the US Flag?    :cdn:
Another nutter who has been sucked into the "poor Muslim" struggle for heaven (Jihad)
I'm probably more Muslim than she is??!!  At least I've been to a few Islamic countries and speak a few words  :-\

 
Jihad Jane pleads not guilty in murder conspiracy

A U.S. woman accused of being part of a plot to murder a Swedish artist who offended Muslims pleaded not guilty on Thursday in a Philadelphia court.

Colleen LaRose, 46, who dubbed herself Jihad Jane on the internet, appeared in court in a green jumpsuit with blond hair in corn rows. She is due back in court for trial on May 3.

She is charged on four counts, including conspiring with jihadist fighters and pledging to commit murder.

Authorities allege LaRose used the internet to meet her co-conspirators. In a 2008 YouTube video, LaRose said she was "desperate to do something to ease the suffering of Muslims."

More at link

 
Her mental state aside, I think what is key in this example is that transnational terrorists can recruit quite easily from around the globe (nutbars and normal people) without ever leaving the comfort of their cave / mud hut / condo / etc.  It only takes one of these recruits to be successful; carrying out an attack, recruiting others, financing operations.
 
Back
Top