He may have been part of the Virginia jihad network. From CNN, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An American detained in Saudi Arabia for 20 months without being charged is being sent back to the United States where he is expected to be charged Tuesday, his father and a family friend told CNN....Abu Ali's family said it has been told he will face unspecified charges in federal court. He is expected to make an appearance in U.S. District Court sometime Tuesday....
The father said his son is not guilty of any crimes. Regarding the unspecified charge expected to be filed in the United States, the father said, "They are lying. He is innocent."
Abu Ali was arrested after the May 2003 bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which killed 23 people, including nine Americans.
Sources familiar with the case have said Abu Ali is suspected of having connections to individuals involved in that bombing. A federal grand jury has been hearing evidence regarding the case.
Federal prosecutors have previously alleged Abu Ali had a relationship with some members of what has been called the "Virginia jihad network," whose members were charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization.
Breaking news on Fox:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,148338,00.html
Man Charged With Plot to Assassinate Bush
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former Virginia high school valedictorian who had been detained in Saudi Arabia (search) as a suspected terrorist was charged Tuesday with conspiring to assassinate President Bush and with supporting the Al Qaeda terrorist network.
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali (search), 23, a U.S. citizen, made an initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court but did not enter a plea. He claimed that he was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia since June of 2003 and offered through his lawyer to show the judge his scars.
The federal indictment said that in 2002 and 2003 Abu Ali and an unidentified co-conspirator discussed plans for Abu Ali to assassinate Bush. They discussed two scenarios, the indictment said, one in which Abu Ali "would get close enough to the president to shoot him on the street" and, alternatively, "an operation in which Abu Ali would detonate a car bomb."
Hang him, burn him, and deport the ashes. (After a fair trial, of course.)
He must have been the mastermind.
It is my sincere hope that the Homeland Security Law allows us to bug every Muslim structure, from the local halal mart to the flashiest mosque.