Counterterrorism Blog

This afternoon, a federal jury in Toledo, Ohio has convicted three local men--Mohammad Amawi, Marwan El-Hindi, and Wassim Mazloum--of all criminal charges filed against them, including plotting attacks against U.S. troops fighting in Iraq. The jury took less than two days to render a resounding verdict in the case, which involved one of the largest collections of terrorist propaganda ever to be seized by the FBI on U.S. soil. During the investigation of the three men—Mohammed Amawi, Marwan El-Hindi, and Wassim Mazloum—FBI agents uncovered a wealth of incriminating evidence indicating that the men were habitual users of such notorious terrorist websites as Muntada al-Ansar and Al-Ekhlaas. Evidence seized from Marwan El-Hindi included login information for an account on the Al-Ekhlaas discussion forum which, in February 2005, was used to post a message which proclaimed to other Al-Ekhlaas users, “I am a terrorist. Please add my name to the list of wanted terrorists. I am a Palestinian Muslim from the Army of Mohammed, may Peace be Upon Him. Terrorist, Terrorist, Terrorist, Terrorist, Terrorist, Terrorist, Terrorist!”

A copy of my expert report from the Amawi/El-Hindi case is now available for download from the NEFA Foundation website. The report carefully analyzes the vast swath of terrorist propaganda seized during the investigation, and how the defendants were recorded by an FBI informant while they reviewed and endorsed individual documents.