DOJ, 2 April 2010: A superseding indictment unsealed this afternoon in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania charges Jamie Paulin Ramirez, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Colorado, and Colleen R. LaRose, aka “Fatima LaRose,” aka “JihadJane,” a resident of Pennsylvania, with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. The superseding indictment adds Ramirez as a defendant to what was previously an indictment charging only LaRose.
The new charges were announced by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Michael L. Levy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; and Janice K. Fedarcyk, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI in Philadelphia.
The superseding indictment charges that LaRose and Ramirez traveled to and around Europe to participate in and in support of violent jihad. According to the superseding indictment, Ramirez exchanged e-mail messages with LaRose during the summer of 2009, in which LaRose invited Ramirez to join her in Europe to attend a “training camp.” Ramirez is charged with accepting the invitation and asking to bring along her minor male child. On Sept, 12, 2009, Ramirez traveled to Europe with her child with the intent to live and train with jihadists. The day she arrived in Europe, the indictment alleges, Ramirez married an unindicted co-conspirator whom she had never before met in person.
The superseding indictment charges Ramirez, age 31, with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charges against LaRose remain unchanged, and carry a maximum potential sentence of life in prison and a $1 million fine.
Ramirez was arrested this afternoon in Philadelphia after voluntarily flying to the United States from abroad.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Philadelphia, the FBI Field Division in New York, and the FBI Field Division in Denver. It is being prosecuted by Jennifer Arbittier Williams, Assistant U.S. Attorney from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Matthew F. Blue, Trial Attorney from the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The public is reminded that an indictment is an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Jawa Report, 12 March 2010: Here’s a screenshot of one of Coleen “Jihad Jane” “Fatima” LaRose’s YouTube accounts from October of 2008. I have her comments transcribed below. . . .
. . . Inshallah i will always come back, no matter how many times i am suspended. This suspension BS is getting old!! but I wont quit till Islam finally dominates the WORLD! ****TO THE ZIONISTS&YOUR SLAVES****GO TO HELL!! you wiill NEVER stop Islam, nor the truth tellers form spreading the truth!!. . . .
I turned in Colleen “Jihad Jane” LaRose to the FBI — A Jawa Report Exclusive (Jawa Report, 11 March 2010)
Below is The Jawa Report’s exclusive report from the person who notified the FBI about Colleen “Jihad Jane” La Rose’s online activities in support of terrorism. There have been so many media inquiries made to The Jawa Report and YouTube Smackdown about our involvement in the “Jihad Jane” case. We here at The Jawa Report and the YouTube Smackdown Corps were involved to varying degrees in tracking and “smacking down” her various YouTube videos and accounts. By “smacking down” we mean we helped with an organized campaign to “flag” terrorist propaganda videos uploaded to YouTube in an effort to have those videos removed.
Howie and Stable Hand at the Jawa Report, for instance, were much more active in following Colleen — who in addition to calling herself “Jihad Jane” also used the name “Fatima LaRose”. Andrea, Sabby, The Bartender, Celebrimbor, & Lam from the Smackdown Corps also followed Jihad Jane over the years. And Star CMC was instrumental both in the Corps and in enlisting the help of members of the Free Republic forum for various YouTube smackdowns.
But one individual in particular decided that Colleen’s pro-terrorism videos and statements crossed a line last year. I think we all thought of Colleen as pathetic and perhaps deranged. But at some time a year or more ago she also caught this person’s attention and they made the judgment that Colleen was also dangerous.
This is their story:
I initially started on youtube with a channel dedicated to performing arts. Due to some disturbing comments I received on videos of Middle East Performing Arts by some so-called fanatical muslims posting comments such as, “if this were my sister I could kill her” or “if I ever if I ever see this girl I will rape her”, I decided to open up a new channel and investigate further where this blind hatred for women in Middle East Performing Arts came from.
One thing lead to another and the next thing I knew, I was dealing with fanatical’s such as JihadJane/FatimaLaRose whose real identity was later revealed as Colleen LaRose. I noted this woman’s dedication to Osama Bin Laden and her extreme hatred to the U.S. and all those who were not muslim wishing death upon us as well as favoriting and commenting on every terrorist video on youtube posting comments such as “you are doing a good job”. Over the course of approximately 1 1/2 years we exchanged comments on youtube in reference to her fanatical beliefs, at times me becoming her main rival which drew attention from others who were monitoring her, mainly the Youtube SmackDown group who were responsible for removing many terrorist vids from youtube.
Bit by bit I learned more about Colleen through her comments or by all the information she recklessly left about herself on the web. I came to know her as a middle aged sociopath woman desperate for love, lonely and isolated, with a deep hatred for the U.S. blaming them for all her problems. She claimed her conversion to Islam was related to meeting a Muslim while on vacation in Holland who somehow made her feel special which became her quest to find a much younger wealthy Muslim husband as evident by her other website accounts with photos of possible husbands including one with stashes of cash piled around his body. Many of her comments revealed a possible husband, much younger than her, and her typical excited giggles plus questions on visa websites asking how to get this possible husband to her. All of this later revealed in searches on the web after she became radicalized.
Since Fatima metamorphosed into the perfect recruit, her previous internet activity was easy to track which she listed her real name, birth date, location, and even online pictures of herself. She was the perfect recruit for extremist; lonely, isolated, blaming others for her problems, in the middle of a midlife crisis, and upset that she had to care for her elderly mother. She lashed out and converted to Islam then used this as an excuse to lash out further at society for being at fault for her problems and citing her elderly mother she had to care for who did not approve of her conversion. . . .
♦ CI CENTRE BRIEFING: Inside Jihad: Recruited and Radicalized Into Terrorism
♦ CI CENTRE COURSE: 361–The Global Jihadist Threat Doctrine
AP, 10 March 2010: Colleen LaRose spent long days caring for her boyfriend’s father in a second-floor apartment in Pennsburg, a small town north of Philadelphia. But online, federal authorities say, the devoted caretaker developed a daring alter ego, refashioning herself as “Jihad Jane” while helping recruit and finance Muslim terrorists — and eventually moving overseas to try to kill an artist she perceived as an enemy to Islam.
LaRose, 46, was charged Tuesday with conspiring with jihadist fighters and pledging to commit murder in the name of a Muslim holy war, or jihad. The indictment was announced hours after authorities arrested seven suspected terrorists in Ireland allegedly linked to LaRose, who has been in prison since her Oct. 15 arrest while returning to the United States. In e-mails recovered by the FBI over 15 months, LaRose agreed to marry an online contact from South Asia so he could move to Europe. She also agreed to become a martyr, the indictment said. . . .
. . . . But online, she grew increasingly devoted to a loose band of what authorities say were violent co-conspirators from around the world. They found her after she posted a YouTube video in June 2008 saying she was “desperate to do something somehow to help” ease the suffering of Muslims, the indictment said.
She eventually agreed to try to kill Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had angered Muslims by depicting the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog, according to a U.S. official who wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Despite Web images that show LaRose in a Muslim head covering, Gorman said he never picked up on any Muslim leanings. She never attended religious services of any kind, he said. Gorman, 47, sensed nothing amiss in their five-year relationship until the day after his father’s funeral last August. “I came home and she was gone. It doesn’t make any sense,” he said Wednesday outside his firm in nearby Quakertown.
That same day, LaRose had removed the hard drive from her computer and set off for Europe — federal authorities won’t specify where. She had swiped Gorman’s passport and planned to give it to the co-conspirator she had agreed to marry, the indictment said. . . . .
Jihad Jane, American who lived on Main Street (CNN, 10 March 2010)
Women Jihadists (Reuters)
Guardian, 10 March 2010: She lived in Main Street, Pennsburg, which in hindsight is about as rich a paradox as could be. Her apartment on the second floor of a block of flats in the Pennsylvania town was nondescript, except for some wind chimes and a star hanging from the balcony.
But today the world learned of Colleen LaRose’s alleged second life, one quite out of keeping with the low-key figure she presented. She was blonde, blue-eyed, 5ft 2ins tall and wholly unassuming, according to a former boyfriend, Kurt Gorman. “She seemed normal to me. She was a good person,” he told the Philadelphia Daily News.
But to the FBI agents who had been tracking her every move from at least as early as July last year, she was potentially a dangerous would-be terrorist intent on martyrdom and using the aliases Jihad Jane and Fatima LaRose. Today, an indictment was unsealed accusing her of plotting to murder a Swedish man in order to frighten “the whole Kufar (nonbeliever) world”. . . . .
♦ CI CENTRE COURSE: 361–The Global Jihadist Threat Doctrine
Washington Post, 10 March 2010: A petite, blond-haired, blue-eyed high school dropout who allegedly used the nickname JihadJane was identified Tuesday as an alleged terrorist intent on recruiting others to her cause, as federal prosecutors unsealed criminal charges that could send her to prison for life.
Colleen Renee LaRose, 46, has been quietly held in U.S. custody since October on suspicions that she provided material support to terrorists and traveled to Sweden to launch an attack, according to federal officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is continuing to unfold.
LaRose, who lived in suburban Philadelphia, allegedly recruited men and women in the United States, Europe and South Asia to “wage violent jihad,” according to an indictment issued in Pennsylvania. She fueled her interests on the Internet over the past few years and used Web sites such as YouTube to post increasingly agitated messages, the court papers said.
As an American citizen whose appearance and passport allowed her to blend into Western society, LaRose represents one of the worst fears of intelligence and FBI analysts focused on identifying terrorist threats. She is one of only a handful of women to be charged with terrorism offenses in the United States, national security experts said. . . .
Pennsylvania Woman Indicted in Plot to Recruit Violent Jihadist Fighters and to Commit Murder Overseas (DOJ, 9 March 2010)
David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Michael L. Levy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, together with Janice K. Fedarcyk, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI in Philadelphia, today announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Colleen R. LaRose, aka “Fatima LaRose,” aka “JihadJane,” with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements to a government official, and attempted identity theft.
The indictment charges that LaRose (an American citizen born in 1963 who resides in Montgomery County, Pa.) and five unindicted co-conspirators (located in South Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and the United States) recruited men on the Internet to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe, and recruited women on the Internet who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad.
The indictment further charges that LaRose and her unindicted co-conspirators used the Internet to establish relationships with one another and to communicate regarding their plans, which included martyring themselves, soliciting funds for terrorists, soliciting passports, and avoiding travel restrictions (through the collection of passports and through marriage) in order to wage violent jihad. The indictment further charges that LaRose stole another individual’s U.S. passport and transferred or attempted to transfer it in an effort to facilitate an act of international terrorism.
In addition, according to the indictment, LaRose received a direct order to kill a citizen and resident of Sweden, and to do so in a way that would frighten “the whole Kufar [non-believer] world.” The indictment further charges that LaRose agreed to carry out her murder assignment, and that she and her co-conspirators discussed that her appearance and American citizenship would help her blend in while carrying out her plans. According to the indictment, LaRose traveled to Europe and tracked the intended target online in an effort to complete her task.
“Today’s indictment, which alleges that a woman from suburban America agreed to carry out murder overseas and to provide material support to terrorists, underscores the evolving nature of the threat we face,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division. “I applaud the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who worked on this important investigation.”
“This case shows the use terrorists can and do make of the Internet,” said U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy. “Colleen LaRose and five other individuals scattered across the globe are alleged to have used the Internet to form a conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism, culminating in a direct order to LaRose to commit murder overseas. LaRose—an American citizen whose appearance was considered to be an asset because it allowed her to blend in—is charged with using the Internet to recruit violent jihadist fighters and supporters, and to solicit passports and funding. It demonstrates yet another very real danger lurking on the Internet. This case also demonstrates that terrorists are looking for Americans to join them in their cause, and it shatters any lingering thought that we can spot a terrorist based on appearance.”
“This case demonstrates that the FBI and our partners in the law enforcement and intelligence communities must continue to remain vigilant in the face of the threats that America faces, in whatever form those threats may present themselves or no matter how creative those who threaten us try to be,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk of the Philadelphia Division of the FBI. “We must use all available technologies and techniques to root out potential threats and stop those who intend to harm us.”
If convicted of the charges against her, LaRose faces a potential sentence of life in prison and a $1 million fine.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Jennifer Arbittier Williams, Assistant U.S. Attorney from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Matthew F. Blue, Trial Attorney from the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
INDICTMENT: US v Colleen R. Larose aka Fatima LaRose, aka JihadJane (.pdf)
