The would-be jihadi is identified in this story as “Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen of Garden Grove, also known as Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum.” Note how conversion to Islam requires the convert to deny his ethnic roots and very identity, despising them as manifestations of jahiliyya — pre-Islamic ignorance — and take on the guise of an Arab. And all too often it also moves converts to hate their nationality as Americans and desire to take up arms against their fellow countrymen.
“Orange County man arrested en route to fight for al Qaeda, say authorities,” by Andrew Blankstein for NBC News, October 11 (thanks to Jas):
An Orange County man was arrested this morning as he tried to board a bus to Mexico en route to fight for al Qaeda against U.S. soldiers overseas, said authorities.
Twenty-four-year-old Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen of Garden Grove, also known as Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, was stopped at a bus station in Santa Ana, Calif. at 7:30 a.m. by members of the Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force and arrested on suspicion of providing material support to al Qaeda.
According to a grand jury indictment, Nguyen, a U.S. citizen, lied about his name, his date of birth, and his place of birth on a passport application in August, and also falsely answered no when asked if he”d ever applied for a passport previously.
He allegedly tried to obtain the passport in order to go overseas to fight for al Qaeda against U.S. forces. He is charged with one count of making false statements to obtain a passport and one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
Nguyen will be arraigned at 2 p.m. in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana. If convicted on both counts, he faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Last year, four Riverside County, Calif. men — Sohiel Omar Kabir, Arifeen David Gojali, Ralph Kenneth Deleon and Miguel Santana Vidriales — were charged by federal prosecutors in connection with a purported plot to join al Qaeda and the Taliban to carry out “violent jihad” against American soldiers and military bases in Afghanistan.
FBI agents alleged that Kabir, who was arrested in Kabul, radicalized Deleon and Santana and along with Gojali planned an assault on American troops using rifles and explosives. Federal authorities also alleged that the foursome, who are awaiting trial, intended to attack Americans in the U.S. if they returned. The FBI said three of the men conducted “preliminary training in Southern California at firearms and paintball facilities.”