An American citizen pleaded guilty earlier this year to attempting to kill American soldiers overseas and providing material support to al-Qaeda, including information about the New York transit system, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court.
Bryant Neal Vinas, 26 years old, born in the New York borough of Queens, became an al-Qaeda militant after receiving training from the terrorist organization outside the U.S., according to criminal charges brought by Benton Campbell, the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn. Mr. Vinas is cooperating with authorities and provided them with information about possible terror plots on rail targets in New York, according to a person familiar with the matter. An affidavit Mr. Vinas has provided is expected to be entered in court in Belgium as part of a different terrorism case.
In another indication of cooperation, Mr. Vinas waived his right to an indictment by a grand jury and pleaded guilty in January to charges brought directly by the government. A sentencing date hasn't been set, typically a sign prosecutors want to wait until criminal cases against others are completed so a defendant can receive credit for cooperation.
Mr. Vinas admitted he attempted to fire rockets at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan last September, according to the documents. He was apprehended in Pakistan in November and currently is in custody in New York, said people familiar with the matter. Mr. Vinas's lawyer declined to comment about the case except to "ask that the public withhold judgment about him until all the facts become available."
Reached by telephone at her home in Medford, New York, Mr. Vinas's mother, Maria Vinas, said she hasn't had contact with her son since he moved out to live with her ex-husband after he finished high school. Ms. Vinas said her son was raised a Catholic, and she has no idea how he came to practice Islam. She emigrated to the U.S. from Argentina, and her ex-husband, Juan, is from Peru. Mr. Vinas's father couldn't be reached for comment.
Mr. Vinas, most recently of Patchogue, New York, received training from al-Qaeda between March and August of last year, court documents say. He provided the group with "specialized knowledge" of the New York transit system and Long Island Railroad, according to the charges. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York, which said Mr. Vinas has never been an employee, said it has been cooperating with authorities, and that there was "never an imminent threat to the system."
23 July 2009
Hang him
The Wall Street Journal has an article by Amir Efrati, Suzanne Sataline, and Evan Perez about another clueless al-Qaeda 'militant':
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