Don't expect this to be headline news in any MSM outlet, but the Patriot Act's controversial provision--which the Democrats are trying to take out of the Bill as we speak--allowing the FBI to search the internet records of those using computers at public libraries has led to the capture of a potential terrorist. Mohammed Radwan Obeid used a computer at a public library in Troy-Miami County, Ohio, to post messages about the possible construction of an atomic bomb at an Islamic forum (the articles gets this part of the story wrong, claiming he sent e-mails, but gets it right that it was in e-mail that Obeid talked about planning a terror attack that would dwarf 9/11). It was the Patriot Act that allowed the FBI to use this evidence against him in court.

Obeid now faces jail time and deportation. Like many terror suspects nabbed by the FBI, the "immigration charge" is related to terrorist activities.

Another important thing about this case is that bloggers helped put away Mr. Obeid. Specifically mentioned is Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch, but another, unnamed, website is also mentioned. It will be interesting to find out what that website was and how it was that the police officer involved in the case was able to contact Mr. Obeid.

NBC 4 [emphasis mine]:

A Jordanian living in Ohio tried to recruit a Norfolk, Va., police officer for a terrorist cause, the officer testified in a federal hearing.

David Vazquez testified Wednesday in federal court that Mohammed Radwan Obeid told him in an e-mail that he was helping to start an operation that would dwarf the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.

Vazquez said he contacted Obeid through two Web sites, including jihadwatch.org, and contacted the FBI after reading Obeid's e-mails.

Obeid, who worked as a cashier in Dayton before his arrest last March on immigration fraud charges, was indicted in October after telling FBI agents that he hadn't used the e-mail account.

He pleaded guilty in December to a felony count of knowingly and willfully making false material representation. He faces a maximum of five years in prison.

Reference librarian Laura Girolamo testified Wednesday that Obeid apparently sent e-mail about gun silencers and constructing hydrogen bombs on a computer at the Troy-Miami County Public Library. She contacted the FBI as well...

A federal immigration judge ordered Obeid's deportation in September, and he has not appealed the decision, said Elaine Komis, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Immigration officials said they believe Obeid entered the United States through marriage fraud. He married a Kansas City woman in Jordan and came to the United States in 2001, according to court papers. The marriage was annulled five months later.

While living in Miami County 10 months ago, a Jordanian citizen allegedly wrote in an e-mail that "we are starting a big operation that will make 9/11 nothing but a little bit of headache," a Virginia police officer testified Wednesday in federal court.

David Vazquez was one of two witnesses who testified during a presentence hearing for Mohammad Radwan Obeid, who was cuffed at the ankles during the hearing and wore yellow clothing issued by the Montgomery County Jail.

The other witness, reference librarian Laura Girolamo of Troy, testified that Obeid on March 11 appeared to send e-mail about gun silencers and how to make hydrogen bombs on a public computer at the Troy-Miami County Public Library.

Concerned, Girolamo contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation....

Vazquez, a Norfolk, Va., police officer, testified that, as a citizen, he initiated contact with Obeid through two Web sites, including jihadwatch.org. He said he contacted the FBI because "I was very alarmed at the words (Obeid) was saying."

Obeid's attorney, Shawn Kelly, challenged Vazquez's assertion that Obeid had tried to recruit him for a terrorist cause. Vazquez, however, said Obeid's "meaning is very clear" in the e-mail exchanges....

At issue in Obeid's presentence hearing is whether his conduct, as alleged by witnesses, is relevant to the crime to which he pleaded guilty. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwight Keller, who is seeking a harsher sentence for Obeid, argued that it is; Kelly said it isn't.

The FBI arrested Obeid on March 28 in Piqua on immigration violations. A federal Immigration Court judge Sept. 19 ordered his deportation, said Elaine Komis, a spokeswoman with the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Posted by: Rusty at 01:28 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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