Domestic terrorismTexas man convicted of terrorism charges
On Wednesday a Texas man, who had been in contact with the radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki, was convicted of attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP); Barry Walter Bujol Jr. was arrested when he boarded a ship at the Port of Houston, which he was led to believe was bound for Algeria where he would stay at an al Qaeda safe haven before heading to Yemen
Bujol convicted of aiding al Qaeda // Source: kurdistantv.net
On Wednesday a Texas man, who had been in contact with the radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki, was convicted of attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Barry Walter Bujol Jr. first came to the attention of federal authorities in 2009. The FBI sent an undercover agent posing as an AQAP recruiter to make contact with Bujol to help him with his goal of carrying out violent jihad.
On 30 May 2010 Bujol was arrested when he boarded a ship at the Port of Houston, which he was led to believe was bound for Algeria where he would stay at an al Qaeda safe haven before heading to Yemen. At the request of the undercover agent, Bujol had agreed to deliver restricted military manuals and GPS receivers along with other items to AQAP.
Prior to his meeting with the undercover agent in 2009, Bujol had made three attempts to leave the United States and join al Qaeda in the Middle East. In addition, investigators uncovered emails in which Bujol asked al Awlaki for advice on how to raise money for the mujahedeen without attracting police attention and on his duty as a Muslim to make “violent jihad.”
Al Awlaki replied by sending Bujol a document titled “Forty-Two Ways of Supporting Jihad,” which argued that “jihad is the greatest deed in Islam … [and] obligatory on every Muslim.”
Al Awlaki, who was recently killed by a U.S. airstrike, has been credited for inspiring multiple lone wolf attacks in the United States including the Fort Hood shooting, the attempted bombing of an airplane in Detroit on Christmas Day, and the failed Times Square car bomb in New York.
According to court records, Bujol actively provided ideas and strategies to target Americans in his talks with the undercover agent. In one conversation, Bujol suggested AQAP attack the people operating unmanned drones rather than the aircraft themselves. He also discussed multiple targets including one in Southern Texas.
Since his arrest in May 2010, Bujol has remained in custody and at his request received a bench trial. Bujol served as his own attorney and the trial lasted four days. He did not testify or call any witnesses.
After carefully reviewing the evidence, U.S. District Judge David Hittner found Bujol guilty on two counts – attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization and aggravated identity theft.
The aggravated identity theft charge stems from a fake passport photo and name that Bujol had received from the undercover agent, which he ultimately used to enter the Port of Houston.
Bujol could be sentenced to as much as twenty years in prison as well as a $250,000 fine.
