DelayedReaction
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From http://www.diamondbackonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/09/19/432e7a02ac390
I have a lot of trouble seeing paintballs as a material worthy of a conviction.
Graduate arrested in terror plot
College Park resident accused of providing material support to Virginia Jihad
By Laurie Au
September 19, 2005
A federal district court indicted a university graduate on conspiracy charges for helping a terrorist group based in Pakistan and called him the “personal assistant” for the spiritual leader of the Virginia Jihad network.
Ali Asad Chandia, 28, was arrested in his College Park home Thursday evening for providing materials to Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was deemed a terrorist organization in 2001. Chandia’s arraignment is scheduled for Friday at U.S. District Court in Alexandria. If convicted, Chandia faces up to 15 years in prison.
Chandia is the second university graduate charged with terrorist connections in the past year. Ahmed Omar Abu was an engineering student in the fall of 1999 before withdrawing from the university to study in Saudi Arabia. Abu was charged with plotting with al-Qaeda members to assassinate President Bush.
The Associated Press and The Washington Post reported that Chandia is a university graduate, but university spokesman Neil Tickner could not confirm Chandia’s campus affiliation last night.
Chandia is accused of providing 50,000 paintballs to Lashkar-e-Taiba, which runs terrorist camps in Pakistan and claims to have trained thousands of people as Islamic holy warriors, The Washington Post reported Saturday. Terrorist groups are known for using paintballs for training.
Chandia is the 11th man arrested in connection with the continuing investigation of the Virginia Jihad network. Ten have been convicted with sentences ranging from three years to life. The first charges were brought against members of the network in June 2003, The Post reported. Chandia is reported to be the personal assistant of Ali al-Timimi, the well-known leader of the Virginia Jihad network sentenced to life in prison earlier this year.
Al-Timimi began gaining power in 2000 by organizing a group of young Muslim men in Northern Virginia to play paintball to prepare for holy wars.
Chandia also attended Montgomery College, where he served as the leader of the Muslim Students Association. His former addresses include homes in Gaithersburg, Greenbelt and Germantown. Relatives in Germantown declined to comment. Some neighbors in Germantown said the family emigrated from Pakistan but they did not know them well.
Though this is the second university student known to have terrorist connections, it doesn’t mean there is a distinct correlation with the university, said Ramona Harper, executive director of the university-based National Center for the Study of Terrorism and Responses.
“We’re centrally at the [capital] of the U.S.,” Harper said. “But there are other targets around the United States that could be just as equally attractive to a terrorist.”
City Councilman Eric Olson said it’s unclear how Chandia is connected to the community, other than being a College Park resident. Local law enforcement agencies were not in charge of Chandia’s investigation since federal authorities are overseeing the case. Federal authorities also searched Chandia’s home in 2003 and found items that supported “violent jihad,” the Post reported.
“It’s very concerning,” Olson said. “One thing I would hope is that people don’t overreact. It sounds like the authorities are taking all the appropriate measures.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter Laurie Au at [email protected].
I have a lot of trouble seeing paintballs as a material worthy of a conviction.
Sounds like an excuse to expand the powers of BATFE and DHS. Next we'll learn that terrorists groups are known for using skateboards or baggy pants for training.