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Six Charged as Terrorists by Justice Department
Aired October 04, 2002 - 14:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Attorney General Ashcroft has dubbed this a day of justice. That brings us to CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena in Washington -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. As you said, six individuals, including five U.S. citizens have been charged today for allegedly being part of an al Qaeda terrorist cell.
Four are in custody in the United States, three were arrested in Portland, Oregon, one in Detroit, Michigan, the other two are at large. We are told by sources they are thought to still be overseas. Now, the charges include conspiracy to wage war against the United States, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism, and conspiracy to contribute services to the Taliban.
Here's a bit of what the attorney general had to say earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: If convicted of these crimes, the defendant -- defendants will face up to life in prison.
Today's arrests follow the capture of suburban Buffalo -- in suburban Buffalo, New York, of six individuals charged with aiding terrorism. In addition, U.S. residents in other settings have been indicted for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.
With today's arrests, we have charged more than 17 individuals since August the 28th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARENA: This latest action, the attorney general says five of the defendants engaged in weapons and physical training to fight jihad. And he said that those five purchased tickets to Hong Kong with the intent of making their way to Afghanistan to join forces with al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Ashcroft said that they ran into some difficulty gaining entry into Afghanistan, and that another defendant wired the five money, knowing that it would be used to support al Qaeda.
Now, one of the individuals, Jeffrey Battle, was a member of the U.S. Army Reserves. He allegedly caused himself to be discharged administratively. According to Ashcroft, he enlisted to receive military training for use against the United States -- Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Kelly, what led investigators to these people?
ARENA: Well, the information that led federal investigators was provided by a local sheriff and deputy in the Oregon area. He had found five of them engaging in firearms training, and so went over to inspect and see what was going on, and that was September 29, it was just a few weeks after the September 11 attacks that these individuals allegedly decided that they were going to get themselves ready for jihad, and get over to Afghanistan -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Kelli Arena, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 4, 2002 - 14:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Attorney General Ashcroft has dubbed this a day of justice. That brings us to CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena in Washington -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. As you said, six individuals, including five U.S. citizens have been charged today for allegedly being part of an al Qaeda terrorist cell.
Four are in custody in the United States, three were arrested in Portland, Oregon, one in Detroit, Michigan, the other two are at large. We are told by sources they are thought to still be overseas. Now, the charges include conspiracy to wage war against the United States, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism, and conspiracy to contribute services to the Taliban.
Here's a bit of what the attorney general had to say earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: If convicted of these crimes, the defendant -- defendants will face up to life in prison.
Today's arrests follow the capture of suburban Buffalo -- in suburban Buffalo, New York, of six individuals charged with aiding terrorism. In addition, U.S. residents in other settings have been indicted for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.
With today's arrests, we have charged more than 17 individuals since August the 28th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARENA: This latest action, the attorney general says five of the defendants engaged in weapons and physical training to fight jihad. And he said that those five purchased tickets to Hong Kong with the intent of making their way to Afghanistan to join forces with al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Ashcroft said that they ran into some difficulty gaining entry into Afghanistan, and that another defendant wired the five money, knowing that it would be used to support al Qaeda.
Now, one of the individuals, Jeffrey Battle, was a member of the U.S. Army Reserves. He allegedly caused himself to be discharged administratively. According to Ashcroft, he enlisted to receive military training for use against the United States -- Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Kelly, what led investigators to these people?
ARENA: Well, the information that led federal investigators was provided by a local sheriff and deputy in the Oregon area. He had found five of them engaging in firearms training, and so went over to inspect and see what was going on, and that was September 29, it was just a few weeks after the September 11 attacks that these individuals allegedly decided that they were going to get themselves ready for jihad, and get over to Afghanistan -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Kelli Arena, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
