It's a safe bet there are additional indictments either being prepared or waiting patiently to be unsealed.
Fairfax County Man Accused of Providing Material Support to TerroristsALEXANDRIA, Va. – Zachary Adam Chesser, 20, of Fairfax County, Va., was arrested today on charges that he provided material support to Al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after Chesser was arrested and the charging documents were made public.
“This case exposes the disturbing reality that extreme radicalization can happen anywhere, including Northern Virginia,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “This young man is accused of seeking to join Al-Shabaab, a brutal terrorist organization with ties to Al-Qa’ida. These allegations underscore the need for continued vigilance against homegrown terror threats.”
“We can't fight terrorists alone,” said FBI ADIC Henry. “Religious leaders of all faiths, family members and particularly the younger members of our communities need to speak up and speak out against individuals who participate in actions like those alleged here.”
On Feb. 29, 2008, the U.S. Department of State designated Al-Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization, describing it as a violent and brutal extremist group based in Somalia with a number of individuals affiliated with Al-Qa’ida. This designation prohibits providing material support or resources to Al-Shabaab.
According to an affidavit filed in court, Chesser, a/k/a Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee, volunteered to federal agents that he attempted on two occasions to travel to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab as a foreign fighter. After he was prevented from boarding a flight from New York to Uganda on July 10, 2010, Chesser allegedly admitted to agents that he intended to travel from Uganda to Somalia. Chesser had attempted to board the plane with his infant son, and court records allege that he brought his son with him as part of his “cover” to avoid detection of his intention to join Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
The court affidavit indicates that in a series of interviews with federal law enforcement, Chesser allegedly discussed in detail how he has maintained several online profiles dedicated to extremist jihad propaganda. These profiles were allegedly used by Chesser to post pro-jihad messages and videos online. These postings allegedly included an article detailing the prerequisites involved in leaving for jihad, which closely follows the steps Chesser took before his July 10 attempt to leave the United States in order to go fight in Somalia.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Gordon Kromberg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney John T. Gibbs of the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Criminal complaints are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov
USA vs. Paul Gene Rockwood, Jr., Case 3:10-cr-00061-RRB, Plea Agreement [pp 5-7]Posted on 21 July 2010 @ 23:13...
C. Factual Basis
The defendant admits the truth of the allegations in Count 1 of the Information and the truth of the following statement, and the parties stipulate that the Court may rely upon this statement to support the factual basis for the guilty plea(s) and for the imposition of the sentence.
ROCKWOOD converted to Islam in late 2001 or early 2002 while living in Virginia. After his conversion, and while residing in Virginia, ROCKWOOD became a strict adherent to the violent Jihad-promoting ideology of cleric Anwar al-Awlaki (Al-Awlaki). This included a personal conviction that it was his (ROCKWOOD'S) religious responsibility to exact revenge by death on anyone who desecrated Islam.
At a time unknown, but prior to moving to Alaska in 2006, ROCKWOOD began researching and selecting possible targets for future execution. In 2006, ROCKWOOD moved to King Salmon, Alaska, and while residing there, continued his adherence to Al-Awlaki's ideology, including devotion to Al-Awlaki's violence-promoting works, "Constants on the Path to Jihad' and "44 Ways to Jihad'.
Along with the development of selected targets, ROCKWOOD also began researching the method and means to exact revenge on his intended targets. Among other topics, ROCKWOOD researched individual explosive components, construction of remote triggering devices such as cellular telephones, and the construction of improvised explosive devices for delivery by common carrier.
Sometime in late 2009, ROCKWOOD began sharing his ideas about committing acts of domestic terrorism, including discussing the use of mail bombs and the possibility of killing targets by gunshot to the head. By early 2010, Rockwood's intended target list was formalized to include approximately 15 specific targets. Thereafter, in April, 2010, ROCKWOOD gave his written target list to his wife Nadia Rockwood who carried the list with her on a trip to Anchorage. ROCKWOOD'S target list was subsequently obtained by investigators of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force ("JTTF").
On May 19,2010, ROCKWOOD was interviewed in Anchorage by agents of the JTTF. During the interview, JTTF agents provided ROCKWOOD a copy of his target list that had been obtained by investigators. In response to investigators' questions, ROCKWOOD knowingly provided materially false statements and explanations about the target list, including denying that he created the list, denying the purpose of the list, and denying ever having such a list of names. In truth and fact, ROCKWOOD selected the names and entities appearing on the list as those he believed should be targeted for assassination and attack, and was, in truth and fact, the creator of the target list.
