CAMDEN, N.J. -- Five Muslim immigrants were found guilty Monday of conspiring to massacre U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix in a case the government said demonstrated its post-Sept. 11 determination to stop terrorist attacks in the planning stages.
The men, who lived in and around Philadelphia for years, were charged with conspiring to kill military personnel and attempted murder; four also faced weapons charges. All were acquitted on the attempted murder charges, and some were convicted on the weapons charges.
The men face up to life in prison when they are sentenced in April.
The government said after the men's arrest in 2007 that an attack was imminent and that the case underscored the dangers of terrorist plots hatched on U.S. soil. Although investigators said the men were inspired by Osama bin Laden, they were not accused of any ties to foreign terror groups.
Defense lawyers argued that the alleged plot was all talk -- that the men weren't seriously planning anything and that they were goaded by two paid FBI informants.
Faten Shnewer, the mother of suspect Mohamad Shnewer, said the informants should be sent to jail, not her son.
"They (the government informants) have to be in jail, not my son and his friends. It's not right, it's not justice," she said moments after the verdict was read.
"They (the government) sent somebody to push him to say something; that's it," she said.
During the eight-week trial, the government relied heavily on information gathered by the informants, who infiltrated the group and secretly recorded hundreds of conversations.
Prosecutors said that the men bought several assault rifles supplied by the FBI and that they trekked to Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains to practice their shooting. The government also presented dozens of jihadist speeches and videos that the men supposedly used as inspiration.
During the eight-week trial, the government relied heavily on information gathered by the informants, who infiltrated the group and secretly recorded hundreds of conversations.
Prosecutors said the men bought several assault rifles supplied by the FBI and that they trekked to Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains to practice their shooting. The government also presented dozens of jihadist speeches and videos that the men supposedly used as inspiration.
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