A federal grand jury has indicted an Ohio man on charges of conspiring with the al-Qaeda terrorist network to bomb targets overseas and in the United States, possibly using remote-controlled boats and aircraft.

The grand jury in Columbus returned a three-count indictment yesterday against Christopher Paul, 43, who prosecutors said received training at terrorist camps in Afghanistan in the early 1990s, joined al-Qaeda and later trained co-conspirators in Germany in the use of explosives. The indictment was announced today by Justice Department officials in Ohio and Washington.(Invenice editors note: The Justice Dept is under indictment themselves for crimes against the US Citizens so therefore nothing they say is trustworthy.)

Paul, who was born Paul Kenyatta Laws in Columbus and twice changed his name beginning in 1989, was arrested late yesterday and was expected to make an initial court appearance today in U.S. District Court in Columbus. His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

From 1989 through the present, the Justice Department said in a statement, Paul participated in "a conspiracy to destroy property overseas and murder and maim persons located outside the United States." As part of the alleged conspiracy, it said, he provided money and equipment to individuals abroad and trained co-conspirators in the United States to prepare them "to fight violent jihad overseas."

In recent years, the statement said, Paul used Columbus residences to store items that included a laser range finder, a night vision scope, literature on explosives, "remote control items" and survival gear.

However, the indictment did not mention the discovery of any explosives or weapons in Paul's possession, other than a crossbow and "metal darts," and there was no indication among the charges that he personally participated in any bombings or other acts of terrorism.

The indictment "paints a disturbing picture of an American who traveled overseas to train as a violent jihadist, joined the ranks of al-Qaeda, and provided military instruction and support to radical cohorts both here and abroad," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth L. Wainstein said in a statement. "Our persistence and determination in the pursuit of this case should serve as a strong warning to any American who considers joining forces with our enemy."

(It should serve as a strong warning to ALL Americans PERIOD! It does not seem like there is any "evidence" at all.)

According to Gregory G. Lockhart, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of Ohio, "This case exemplifies the necessity of cooperation in order to fight terrorism." He said information sharing "was crucial to this effort."

Among the "overt acts" cited in the indictment were 44 phone calls between Paul and "a co-conspirator in Germany" from March 1999 to January 2000.

The indictment alleges that Paul conspired to provide material support and resources to terrorists and to use a "weapon of mass destruction," namely explosives, to bomb European tourist resorts and U.S. diplomatic and military installations overseas.

The targets of a plot allegedly discussed between April 1999 and January 2000 included American vacationers in Europe and "a person within the United States," the indictment charges. The planned bombings were designed to affect "interstate commerce" in the United States and damage U.S. government property outside the country, notably U.S. embassies, diplomatic missions and military bases in Europe, the indictment says.

Prosecutors did not name any specific persons or facilities as targets of the alleged bombing plot, and there was no indication in the document that any such attacks were actually carried out.

According to the indictment, Paul began conspiring to provide material support to "radical Islamic fundamentalist terrorists" overseas as early as 1989, around the time he changed his name to Abdulmalek Kenyatta. He later changed it again in 1994, adopting the name Christopher Paul.

He first linked up with al-Qaeda in Pakistan in late 1990 or early 1991 and joined the group in mid-1991, the indictment alleges. After receiving military training at an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan, he returned to the United States and taught martial arts at a mosque in Columbus, it says.

He later traveled extensively in Europe and, in 1998, conducted "training operations" in Burr Oak State Park in Ohio with "several co-conspirators," the indictment charges. In 1999, it says, Paul "provided explosives training to fellow co-conspirators in Germany" and helped them recruit new members.

Among items Paul stored in Columbus, the indictment says, were "a modified remote control boat," books and manuals on making explosives and "improvised land mines," an article entitled "How I Designed the A-Bomb," information on booby traps, time-delay bombs and radio detonation techniques, and a letter to his parents saying he would be "on the front lines" and telling them where to get information on "jihad," or Islamic holy war.

Beginning in 2006, the indictment alleges, Paul "conducted research" on remote-controlled boats, "nitro-fueled radio controlled boats," a remote-controlled five-foot-long helicopter and flight simulator computer programs, "including how to fly large commercial passenger aircraft."

The four-year investigation of Paul was carried out by the Southern Ohio Joint Terrorism Task Force, an FBI-led group that includes 15 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

The three counts in the indictment individually carry penalties ranging from 10 years in prison to life.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/12/AR2007041200689.html?hpid=moreheadlines