Arrest of Two New Jersey Men Bound for Somalia

On June 5, 2010, two New Jersey men, Mohamed Mahmood Alessa and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, who were bound for Somalia with "the stated intention of joining an Islamic extremist group to kill American troops", Al Shahab, were arrested at Kennedy International Airport in New York City. They had checked in and were preparing to board separate connecting flights to Egypt, and from there to travel to Somalia by boat, to join Al Shahab. Both reportedly resisted arrest.
Alessa, born in the U.S. to Palestinian and Jordanian parents, was 20 years old at the time of his arrest, and from North Bergen, New Jersey.<ref name="nytimes4"/><ref name="nytimes3"/><ref name="autogenerated2"/> As a teenager Alessa began to spend time with a group of boys who called themselves the P.L.O. or the Arabian Knights.<ref name="nytimes4"/><ref name="nytimes3"/> He seemed like an observant Muslim to neighbors, but one neighbor said he had seen Alessa drink alcohol.<ref name="nytimes4"/> While his beard was generally long, he occasionally shaved it off according to the neighbor.<ref name="nytimes4"/> His landlord said Alessa visited Jordan about two years prior to his arrest for six months.<ref name="nytimes4"/>
Alessa reportedly said: “They only fear you when you have a gun and when you — when you start killing them, and when you — when you take their head, and you go like this, and you behead it on camera.” He added: “We’ll start doing killing here, if I can’t do it over there.”<ref name="nytimes3"/> And : “Only way I would come back here is if I was in the land of jihad and the leader ordered me to come back here and do something here. Ah, I love that.”<ref name="nytimes3"/> Speaking of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 American at Fort Hood, he reportedly was recorded saying he would outdo him: "He's not better than me. I'll do twice what he did."<ref name="washingtonpost1"/>
Almonte, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in the Dominican Republic, was 24 years old at the time of his arrest, and lived in Elmwood Park, New Jersey.<ref name="nytimes4"/><ref name="nytimes3"/> He reportedly converted to Islam.<ref name="nytimes3"/>
The two had been under Federal Bureau of Investigation scrutiny since 2006.<ref name="nytimes3"/> Recordings of them discussing their plans at a number of meetings were made by a New York Police Department undercover officer.<ref name="nytimes3"/>
The two reportedly traveled to Jordan in February 2007, tried without success to get into Iraq, and according to Almonte tried unsuccessfully to become mujahedeen, and were “upset with the individuals who failed to recruit them".<ref name="nytimes3"/><ref name="autogenerated2"/><ref name="washingtonpost1"/>
They had engaged in paintball and tactical training, and acquired military gear and apparel, according to the complaint against them.<ref name="nytimes3"/> They talked about what they said was their obligation to wage violent jihad, and expressed a willingness to commit acts of violence in the U.S., according to the complaint.<ref name="nytimes3"/>
The men also watched video and audio recordings promoting violent jihad, including lectures by Anwar al-Awlaki, who is suspected of inciting Muslims to violence.<ref name="nytimes3"/>
Charges
The suspects were charged with conspiring to kill, maim, and kidnap people outside the U.S.<ref name="nytimes3"/> If convicted, they could face a sentence of life in prison, and fines of up to $250,000.<ref name="nytimes3"/>
On June 7, 2010, they appeared before Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in federal court in Newark, New Jersey.<ref name="nytimes1"/> Lawyers were appointed to represent them, and a bail hearing was scheduled for June 10 and a preliminary hearing for June 21 on the charges they face.<ref name="nytimes1"/>
Al Shahab
The two were seeking to join the violent hard-line Islamic extremist group al-Shahab in Somalia when they were arrested.<ref name="nytimes2"/><ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref name="washingtonpost1"/> Al Shahab, which was designated a terrorist group by the U.S. in 2008, claims ideological kinship with al-Qaeda, has recruited hundreds of foreign fighters to help fight a civil war in Somalia, and some of the recruits had been killed.<ref name="nytimes2"/><ref name="nytimes3"/><ref name="washingtonpost1"/> Approximately 20 Americans have joined Al Shabab, and at least six have been killed, according to friends and relatives.<ref name="nytimes2"/>
The group's Islamist ideology calls for amputations and public stonings for violations of Islamic law, and prohibits music and television.<ref name="nytimes2"/>
Its leaders have reputedly worked closely with terrorists of al-Qaeda in Yemen and Pakistan.<ref name="nytimes2"/> It is thought to have harbored al-Qaeda terrorists responsible for the 1998 Kenya and Tanzania U.S. embassy bombings.<ref name="nytimes3"/>

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