A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld
the convictions of three members of a North Carolina terror ring who
plotted to attack the U.S. Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Va., and
targets abroad.
Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, Hysen Sherifi
and Ziyad Yaghi were convicted in 2011 after two FBI informants
testified that they were part of a home-grown terror group that raised
money, stockpiled weapons, took trips overseas and trained for jihadist
attacks against perceived enemies of Islam. They were given prison terms
ranging from 15 years to 45 years.
On appeal, the men argued that they never
conspired to actually commit terrorist acts — they only talked about
their beliefs, and such expression is protected by the First Amendment.
“Of course, their argument ignores that
the jury found — as it was required to do in order to convict — that the
appellants had, in fact, agreed to take action in furtherance of
violent jihad,” appeals court Judge Robert King wrote in the unanimous
opinion.
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