US judge to sentence 3 men in NC terror ring
Three men convicted of joining a North Carolina terrorism ring that federal agents say plotted attacks on the U.S. Marine Corps based at Quantico and foreign targets will be sentenced Friday in a New Bern courthouse.
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Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, Ziyad Yaghi and Hysen Sheriffi were convicted in October of conspiring to aid terrorist activities overseas after a month-long trial that started just after the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Judge Louise Flanagan said her court has received many letters from people who wanted to be heard before sentencing in support of one or all of the men. Their convictions have stirred the Muslim community in the Raleigh area where they lived.
In October, Yaghi and Sherifi also were convicted of conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure people, but the jury acquitted Hassan on that charge. Sherifi also was found guilty of two weapons counts and a charge of conspiracy to kill federal employees.
Hassan, Yaghi and Sherifi were among eight men who investigators say raised money, stockpiled weapons and trained in preparation for jihadist attacks against those they deemed enemies of Islam.
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