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United States Attorney’s Office Central District of California Thom Mrozek (213) 894-6947 |
Return to the 2009 Press Release Index
Release No. 09-024
March 6, 2009
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A former inmate in a California state prison who formed a
domestic terrorist group that planned to attack United States military operations,
“infidels,” and Israeli and Jewish facilities in the Los Angeles area was sentenced this
morning to 16 years in federal prison.
Kevin James, 32, who formed the terrorist group he dubbed Jam’iyyat Ul-Islam
Is-Saheeh, or JIS, while in a California state prison, was sentenced by United States
District Judge Cormac J. Carney.
In sentencing James, Judge Carney said, “Mr. James was the architect and
mastermind of a very serious, very troubling offense.”
“The JIS terrorist group reminds us of the dangers that continue to confront our
nation,” said United States Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien. “Both foreign enemies and so called
homegrown terrorists have the desire to stage potentially deadly attacks on
American soil. As a result of the outstanding work of the FBI and the Joint Terrorism
Task Force, one imminent threat was identified and disabled.”
Last year, Judge Carney sentenced Levar Washington, who was recruited into
JIS while in state prison and subsequently recruited others into the plot, to 22 years in
prison. A third man involved in JIS, Gregory Patterson, was sentenced last year to 151
months in prison.
James, Washington and Patterson admitted in court that they conspired “to levy
war against the government of the United States through terrorism, and to oppose by
force the authority of the United States government.”
The fourth member of JIS accused in an indictment – Hammad Samana – is
scheduled to go on trial on July 14 before Judge Carney.
“Kevin James, the founder of the JIS homegrown terror cell, recruited his
co-conspirators from behind prison walls to target Los Angeles for terrorism,” said
Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. “This case
reminds us of the evolving terror threat we face, and continues to serve as one of the
finest examples of line police officers uncovering a terrorist plot and setting aside
jurisdictional boundaries to work with the JTTF.”
Torrance Police Chief John J. Neu said: “This case is a prime example of
front-line police officers as front-line prevention of domestic terrorism. This dangerous
group was discovered by alert police officers and the teamwork between our regional
law enforcement partners met this danger head-on. It is important to understand that
there was nothing artificial about this group’s ability to carry-out a mass casualty attack.
This case represents the effective collaboration of local, state and federal resources in
the region which thwarted a tremendous threat to our citizens. We are very pleased to
with today’s sentencing of Kevin James.”
After forming JIS in 1997 while in state prison, James recruited Washington into
the organization in late 2004 while both were prisoners at New Folsom Prison. James
required Washington swear an oath of loyalty and obedience to James and to JIS. After
his release from prison several weeks after taking the JIS oath, Washington recruited
Patterson and Samana into JIS and had them swear oaths of allegiance and obedience
to JIS. After forming this cell, Washington and Patterson conducted about a dozen
armed robberies of gas stations to obtain money for the group’s planned attacks in the
Los Angeles area.
Samana researched targets and prepared a document called “Modes of Attack.”
The document listed “LAX and Consulate of Zion,” “Military Targets,” “Army Recruiting
centers throughout the county,” “Military base in Manhattan Beach” and “Campsite of
Zion.”
After Torrance Police investigators linked Washington and Patterson to a gas
station robbery, various Jihadist documents were found at a South Los Angeles
apartment where they lived. In addition to the “Modes of Attack” document,
investigators discovered a document titled “Notoriety Moves,” which contained a James authored
statement to be given to the media after a deadly attack. The proposed press
statement reads, in part, “This incident is the first in a series of incidents to come in a
plight to defend and propagate traditional Islam in its purity.” The document also warns
“sincere Muslims” to avoid a series of targets, including “Those Jewish and non-Jewish
supporters of an Israeli state.”
The investigation into the terrorist conspiracy was led by the FBI’s Long Beach
Joint Terrorism Task Force, whose participating agencies include the Los Angeles
Police Department; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Torrance Police
Department; the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; the Long Beach Police
Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Los Angeles Port Police; U.S. Customs
and Border Protection; the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; the Defense
Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and the
Redondo Beach Police Department.
Substantial assistance during the investigation was provided by the Los Angeles
County District Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Investigations; the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation; the California Department of Justice; the Drug
Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations; and the
Department of Defense.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office worked collaboratively with the
United States Attorney’s Office during the investigation.
