* Abdulkader is a native of Eritrea
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2016/08/16/west-chester-isis/88443630/
'Martyrdom was the only thing that was on his mind'
by Keith BieryGolick
August 17, 2016
Molotov cocktails, martyrdom and terrorism.
Those words aren't typically associated with West Chester Township. The growing suburban community, located in Butler County, almost halfway between Dayton and Cincinnati, is known more for its Voice of America Park and an Ikea store than crime and violence.
Therein lies the mystery of Munir Abdulkader. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to a gruesome plan officials say was approved by a religious leader for the terror group Islamic State (IS), sometimes known as ISIS or ISIL.
First, according to a statement of facts attached to his guilty plea, he was to kidnap a government employee at home and film his execution. Then, Abdulkader planned to attack a police station using Molotov cocktails and an AK-47.
He went to a shooting range to learn how to use the gun and was arrested the next day when he bought one for $350.
Documents surrounding his arrest were unsealed in July. But much is still unknown about how someone from one of Greater Cincinnati's more affluent suburbs, who attended Xavier University, wound up communicating with top-level IS officials.
School photos show appearance of happy student
In 2013, Abdulkader attended Lakota East High School. In a photo published in the Journal-News, Abdulkader is pictured working with another student in chemistry class. The senior student smiled in his yearbook photo.
He lived at an apartment complex near wooded subdivisions with cul-de-sacs. On a Thursday last month, children rode around the complex's parking lots while their parents watched from their porches. A nearby sign touted the complex was part of the Lakota School District.
Abdulkader went by the name Munir Mohammed while at the school. Mohammed translates to praiseworthy. Nothing to hint at what was to come.
The last name he signed on his guilty plea translates to servant.
Several teachers at Lakota contacted by The Enquirer declined to comment.
Abudlkader graduated in 2013 and began taking classes at Xavier University that fall. University spokeswoman Kelly Leon said Abdulkader was a registered student from the fall of 2013 to the spring of 2015. She said federal privacy laws prevent her from saying more.
"I can tell you that university officials have conferred with the FBI and at no time were our students or campus at risk," Leon previously said in a statement.
According to his plea agreement, Abdulkader was at Xavier when he established Twitter accounts and began pledging support to ISIL. He said on Twitter his cousin died fighting for ISIL and expressed a desire to attain martyrdom.
It's not clear what sparked this or whether his cousin ever lived in West Chester. And officials aren't saying.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Mangan, who is prosecuting the case, and other officials at the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio declined to comment.
Jennifer Thornton, a spokeswoman for the attorney's office, said what led to Abdulkader's IS involvement will likely be addressed at his sentencing in October.
Did he have a criminal history?
Abdulkader became an American citizen in 2006, when he was 11 years old, officials have said. Abdulkader is a native of Eritrea in eastern Africa and moved with his family to the U.S.
He didn't have a criminal record in Butler County. And neither did his family.
The Enquirer reviewed reports documenting police interaction with Abdulkader and his relatives. The only reference to Abdulkader was as a passenger in a traffic stop where a warning for expired registration was issued.
A 25-year-old relative of his was cited on misdemeanor charges for a traffic crash in 2011, and a 63-year-old relative also was similarly cited after a traffic crash in 2010.
West Chester Township Police Chief Joel Herzog declined to comment on the arrest and what involvement his agency had in the case.
Abdulkader was arrested in Mason by the FBI's Cincinnati-Dayton Joint Terrorism Task Force on May 21, 2015.
No option but to fight
In January 2015, Abdulkader applied for a passport and began saving money to travel to Syria. He told others he wanted to be a fighter "for sure, for sure, for sure" and called several times to check on the status of his passport, according to court documents.
At one point, he was asked by a confidential source if he would consider other jobs if he could not be a fighter. The answers was simple:
"Martyrdom was the only thing that was on his mind," said FBI Special Agent T.A. Staderman in court documents.
But Abdulkader grew worried about the number of people arrested who tried to travel overseas to join IS. That's when he began communicating with members of the terror organization who encouraged him to plan an attack in the United States.
>From rapper to hacker to IS recruiter
One of those members was Junaid Hussain.
Hussain was young, just like Abdulkader. The 21-year-old was killed by an American airstrike about three months after Abdulkader was arrested. He was said to be one of the United States' top targets because of his online celebrity.
Before his death, Hussain was a central figure in the Islamic State militant group’s online recruitment. Before that, he was a rapper and hacktivist in Birmingham, England. His claim to fame was hacking into the email account of a staffer for former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair and posting his personal information online.
Lorraine Murphy, a digital journalist who specializes in hacktivism, considered him a friend. She met Hussain through Twitter before he was arrested for the Blair incident. He would send her rap music – she hated it – and the two would talk about strife in Palestine.
This was before he used his hacking skills and online persona as a part of IS.
"He was dedicated to principals in a cold way. He didn’t care what (his actions) did to anybody as long as right was done," said Murphy. "That is exactly the kind of absolutism that ISIS seizes on."
Hussain spent six months in jail and was arrested again. While out on bail, he traveled to Syria and is widely believed to have posted on Twitter as Abu Hussain al-Britani. As fast as Twitter would delete his accounts, he created others.
Hussain acted as a cheerleader for attacks in the U.S., including the 2015 incident where two gunmen were killed after they opened fire at an event featuring cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed.
"He was a charismatic person," Murphy said.
Murphy lost touch with Hussain after he was arrested in England. She profiled him for Vanity Fair magazine after his death.
She said it is unlikely Hussain reached out to Abdulkader. The perception that IS is out there "like a bunch of pedophiles" searching for recruits, she said, isn't true.
"They wait for guys to come to them," Murphy said.
Phone calls restricted
Abdulkader turned 22 at the Butler County Jail in July.
He is not allowed to contact anyone not approved by the court, according to an order filed last month. The list of approved parties is still under seal. This is likely to keep Abdulkader from communicating with terrorists and the media.
The same federal public defender who represented Christopher Cornell, the Green Township man who plotted to shoot President Barack Obama during a State of the Union address, is representing Abdulkader.
After he was arrested, Cornell called WXIX-TV and talked openly about his plans to kill Obama.
Richard Smith-Monahan, who represented Cornell and is now representing Abdulkader, filed a motion asking the court to hold the TV station in contempt of court. He said Cornell could never get a fair trial if the interview aired because of the "extraordinary media circus" related to the case.
The interview was eventually aired.
Smith-Monahan hasn't responded to multiple interview requests since the case was unsealed.
What we don't know
What Abdulkader's family thinks. Several attempts to contact friends and relatives were unsuccessful. One person closed the door when he found out he was speaking to a reporter.
Exactly who or what he was targeting. We know it was a government employee and a police station, but officials have not said which one. Abdulkader conducted surveillance there on May 18, 2015, according to court documents.
What's next
Abdulkader is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 4. The guilty plea does not include an agreement on his sentence. Abdulkader could receive life in prison and face up to $750,000 in fines.
Reporter Kevin Grasha contributed.
Received on Wed Aug 17 2016 - 10:39:49 EDT