Thwarting Terror

Two members of an Islamic jihadist group formed in a California prison pleaded guilty Friday to terror charges that they plotted attacks on military bases, synagogues and Israeli government facilities. The group, Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh (JIS), preached violence against "infidels," researched possible military and Jewish targets in the Los Angeles area, and allegedly bought firearms and launched a series of gas station robberies to fund the enterprise. Federal prosecutors charged four men in 2005 with a seven-count federal terror, weapons and robbery indictment.

The two men who accepted plea deals in federal court in Santa Ana, Calif., were alleged JIS founder Kevin James and Levar Washington, whom James recruited when the pair were cellmates at California's New Folsom Prison. Both pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to levy war against the United States through terrorism. Washington also admitted to a weapons charge. James faces up to 20 years in federal prison; Washington could get 25. Prosecutors expect a third man, Gregory Patterson, to accept a plea deal next week. The fourth alleged conspirator, Hammad Samana, currently undergoing psychiatric treatment, was ruled unfit to stand trial, federal prosecutors say.

Law enforcement agents launched the investigation in 2005, after JIS documents turned up during an investigation of a gas station robbery in Torrance, Calif. According to the plea deal, James, a prisoner at a state prison in Sacramento, formed JIS in 1997 with the aim of an Islamic caliphate in the United States, recruiting fellow inmates to join a group whose plan was to "sit back, plan and attack!!!" The plot didn't really get rolling until 2004, when James's former cellmate Washington was paroled to Los Angeles and began recruiting at a local mosque, according to the plea deal. Washington concocted a scheme to finance the terror activities by robbing gas stations (they allegedly hit about a dozen). Meanwhile Samana allegedly researched possible targets, including National Guard facilities, the El Al counter at Los Angeles International Airport, the Israeli consulate and something called the "campsite of Zion." According to a "Blueprint 2005" document written by James, the men planned to buy pistols with silencers and "bombs that can be activated from a distance."

The successful California case marked a sharp improvement in the fortune for the feds' track record in recent anti-terror prosecution. A federal jury in Miami Thursday failed to convict any of the seven defendants of the Liberty City Seven, a group of indigent men who allegedly plotted to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago. Jurors acquitted one man outright and the judge declared a mistrial in the six other men's trials. The case drew charges of entrapment because it was based on information provided by an FBI informant posing as an Al Qaeda emissary. Federal prosecutors vowed to retry the six remaining defendants; the trial will probably begin next year.

Thomas P. O'Brien is the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, whose office prosecuted the case. In an interview with NEWSWEEK'S Andrew Murr, O'Brien said the JIS group might have been close to readiness for attacks. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: How close do prosecutors believe the JIS cell was to committing terror attacks when they were arrested?
Thomas P. O'Brien: We believe based on all the evidence gathered they were within several months of conducting an operation. The reason is that some of the documents found [raised the possibility], and they had acquired weapons and had test fired them. They had a 12-gauge shotgun [and had ordered a rifle]. They were out conducting a string of about a dozen armed robberies in order to gather money to fund the terrorist attacks. They had conducted surveillance and come up with a list of jihad-type targets around Los Angeles.