Jacksonville teen went to Middle East to train with terrorists, prosecutors say

SNIPPET: "The U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa announced Thursday that a grand jury has indicted Shelton Thomas Bell, 19, of Jacksonville, on charges of conspiring and attempting to provide material support to terrorists. He faces up to 15 years in prison for each of the two charges.

According to the indictment, Bell had planned to travel to the Arabian Peninsula and join Ansar Al-Sharia, which is an alias for al-Qaida there. The group has taken responsibility for multiple attacks on Yemeni forces, including a suicide bombing during a parade in May 2012, which killed more than 100 Yemeni soldiers. The group has also claimed credit for a series of armed assaults in March 2012, killing more than 100 people, including Yemeni soldiers.

NOTE The following text is a quote:

www.fbi.gov/jacksonville/press-releases/2013/florida-man-indicted-for-conspiring-and-attempting-to-provide-material-support-to-terrorists

“Florida Man Indicted for Conspiring and Attempting to Provide Material Support to Terrorists”

U.S. Attorney’s Office
July 18, 2013

Middle District of Florida

JACKSONVILLE, FL—Acting U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Acting Assistant Attorney General John Carlin of the Justice Department’s National Security Division and Michelle Klimt, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Jacksonville Division, today announced the return by a grand jury of an indictment charging Shelton Thomas Bell, 19, of Jacksonville, Florida, with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to terrorists. If convicted, Bell faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison on each of the two charges. Bell is currently detained in the Duval County Jail on unrelated charges.

According to the indictment, Bell devised a plan to travel to the Arabian Peninsula to join Ansar al Sharia (AAS), an alias for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and participate in violent armed conflict that he termed “jihad.” AAS has taken responsibility for multiple attacks on Yemeni forces, including a suicide bombing during a parade in May 2012 that killed more than 100 Yemeni soldiers and a series of armed assaults in March 2012 that killed more than 100 people, including Yemeni soldiers.

The indictment alleges that between May 2012 and September 2012, Bell and others engaged in physical, firearms, and other training in preparation for armed conflict in the Middle East, which Bell described as “the actions of jihad.” Bell allegedly solicited other individuals, including juveniles, to travel overseas with him in furtherance of this conspiracy. Bell made video and audio recordings intended to be distributed to others once he arrived in the Middle East, for the purpose of soliciting and recruiting others there to participate in violent jihad. In September 2012, Bell and a juvenile traveled to Amman, Jordan, and made contact with an individual who could facilitate their travel to Yemen to participate in violent jihad.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Jacksonville Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The JTTF is a multi-agency task force composed of full-time personnel from the FBI, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mac D. Heavener, III and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Mara M. Kohn from the Department’s Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division.

Indictment - Copy - Link:
http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/2202.pdf

http://www.investigativeproject.org/4090/indictment-jacksonville-man-tried-to-join-aqap

For The Record - The IPT Blog

“Indictment: Jacksonville Man Tried to Join AQAP”
by Abha Shankar
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:00 pm

SNIPPET: “According to the indictment, Bell and an unnamed juvenile engaged in physical fitness and firearms training to prepare for armed conflict. Bell also made video and audio recordings to solicit and recruit others to join him in jihad. In furtherance of their efforts to “promote the jihad,” Bell and his accomplice undertook a night-time “mission” in which they “dressed in dark clothing, wore masks and gloves, wrapped their footwear in tape, and, caused significant damage to religious statues at the Chapel Hills Memorial Gardens Cemetery.”

Bell said he was ‘partaking in the training of jihad,” actively seeking participation in jihad,” and “looking for an active objective.” He identified his target as “[n]ot the American people, just the flag and the Government.” A woman identifying herself as Bell’s mother told the Jacksonville Times Union that he had converted to Islam.

Bell and the unnamed accomplice leased a laptop computer to communicate with people after he traveled to the Middle East and bought “gauze pads, batteries, athletic tape, razors, and a computer storage device” as part of their plan. Bell then bought a one-way ticket for both him and his friend to fly to Tel Aviv, Israel. They made the trip last September but were denied entry. After going to Jordan, they reached out to people named Nidal and Sheik Yussef seeking help finding a way into Yemen. It is not clear when he returned to Jacksonville or why he never made it to Yemen. He has been in the county jail since January on an unrelated grand theft charge, a Jacksonville television station reports.

Bell faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted.”

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