CARLSON-JET
10-11-2006, 11:28 AM
I wonder what will become of this... and a Californian to boot. :)
A California-born convert to Islam who has appeared in al-Qaida videos became on Wednesday the first American charged with treason since the World War Two era, a U.S. Justice Department official said.
Adam Gadahn, 28, who is believed to be overseas and is not in U.S. custody, was accused of treason, which carries a maximum punishment of death, and providing material support for a terrorist group, the official said.
Treason is the only crime specified in the Constitution and requires either confession in open court or the testimony of at least two witnesses to get a conviction. Prosecutors believe that with millions of witnesses to his videos, they have enough proof, but the decision will be controversial, given that so little is known about the circumstances of the videos.
Born Adam Pearlman in California and raised on a goat farm in Riverside County, he converted to Islam in his late teens. His parents say he moved to Pakistan in 1998. In 2004, the FBI revealed that it believed he was one of a group of al-Qaida terrorists planning some kind of attack later that year.
He first showed up in an al-Qaida video in October 2004 and called himself "Azzam the American."
He has appeared in at least four al-Qaida videos, the most recent one in September.
The source (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15222167/)
A California-born convert to Islam who has appeared in al-Qaida videos became on Wednesday the first American charged with treason since the World War Two era, a U.S. Justice Department official said.
Adam Gadahn, 28, who is believed to be overseas and is not in U.S. custody, was accused of treason, which carries a maximum punishment of death, and providing material support for a terrorist group, the official said.
Treason is the only crime specified in the Constitution and requires either confession in open court or the testimony of at least two witnesses to get a conviction. Prosecutors believe that with millions of witnesses to his videos, they have enough proof, but the decision will be controversial, given that so little is known about the circumstances of the videos.
Born Adam Pearlman in California and raised on a goat farm in Riverside County, he converted to Islam in his late teens. His parents say he moved to Pakistan in 1998. In 2004, the FBI revealed that it believed he was one of a group of al-Qaida terrorists planning some kind of attack later that year.
He first showed up in an al-Qaida video in October 2004 and called himself "Azzam the American."
He has appeared in at least four al-Qaida videos, the most recent one in September.
The source (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15222167/)