Indictments for the pipe-bomb-packing “students”

Friday, August 31st, 2007 2:14 pm by Neal
Ahmed Mohamed and Yousef Megahed — Indicted on carrying explosive materials across state lines and additional charges.

UPDATE: Here’s the three-page indictment as a PDF.

***

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s post on the ongoing investigation of the two, pipe-bomb-packing students, Fox News reports that Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed and Youssef Samir Megahed have been indicted for carrying explosive materials across states lines. In addition, Mohamed has been “charged with teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons.”

From the article, South Florida Students Face Indictment for Carrying Explosives Across State Lines:

Two Egyptian students at the University of South Florida were indicted Friday for carrying explosive materials across states lines and one of them was charged with teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons.

Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, an engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at the Tampa-based university, faces terrorism charges for teaching and demonstrating how to use the explosives.

He and Youssef Samir Megahed, 21, an engineering student, were stopped for speeding Aug. 4 in Goose Creek, S.C., where they have been held on state charges.

The two men were stopped with pipe bombs in their car near a Navy base in South Carolina where enemy combatants have been held. They were held on state charges while the FBI continued to investigate whether there was a terrorism link.

Mohamed was charged with distributing information relating to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction, which is a terrorism-related statute, a Justice Department official said. The crime carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.

He and Megahed both face with charges of transporting explosives in interstate commerce without permits, which carries a 10-year prison penalty. Their defense attorney, Andy Savage, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The indictment was handed up in Tampa, Fla.

We mentioned yesterday that “this is an odd case, and hopefully the federal grand jury can shed some light on what these students were up to.” Well, indeed they have, and this is looking less like a case of some lost “students” on their way to the beach and more like yet another case of domestic terrorism intercepted before an event was executed. Kudos to the state and federal law enforcement officials for their investigation so far. From the article,

In South Carolina, where Mohamed and Megahed have been held in the Berkeley County jail, U.S. Attorney Reginald I. Lloyd praised state and federal authorities for cooperating in the four-week investigation that initially did not look like a terrorism case.

“The arresting deputy’s vigilance and the immediate response of our local investigators and prosecutors are highly commendable,” Lloyd said in a statement.

Michelle Malkin has been following this story.

Comments are closed.