American officials remain completely uninterested in the recurring phenomenon of converts to Islam falling into what those officials generally insist is a perversion of the true, peaceful Islam. Why do so many converts get the idea that their new religion calls for treason and mass murder? No one seems to care to find the answer to that question.
“Detroit terror suspect strikes deal in federal court,” by Robert Snell, Detroit News, March 30, 2017:
Detroit — A Detroit man accused of plotting jihad on behalf of the Islamic State accepted a plea deal with federal prosecutors Thursday and could spend up to five years in prison.
Sebastian Gregerson admitted he acquired a fragmentation grenade last summer from an undercover FBI employee, a crime because the grenade was an unregistered destructive device.
“I am guilty of that count,” Gregerson, 30, told U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow.
The charge is a 10-year felony, but Gregerson could spend half as much time in federal prison under terms of the plea deal. Tarnow will sentence Gregerson, aka Abdurrahman Bin Mikaayl, June 30.
In court filings, prosecutors allege Gregerson acquired the grenades and other weapons in preparation for an attack in support of the Islamic State.
Gregerson’s sentencing guideline range is 37-46 months in federal prison and the plea deal caps the potential sentence at 60 months. The guidelines are advisory and Tarnow can go above or below the range.
Under the plea deal, Gregerson also could be sentenced to three years of supervised release – the federal version of parole. And his computer and internet access would be restricted for three years.
Gregerson, wearing handcuffs and ankle chains and dressed in a khaki prison uniform, was stoic during the plea hearing but smiled at his wife and father, who sat in the courtroom gallery.
His father waved away reporters who approached for comment….
The FBI believes Gregerson was plotting violent jihad with a radical former imam and was part of a broader-based group of like-minded supporters in Maryland, according to court records and prosecutors.
Gregerson converted to Islam after high school and worked as an hourly Target employee. He amassed an armory of weapons that were purchased, in part, by the former Maryland imam, Suleiman Bengharsa, according to sealed federal court records obtained by The Detroit News.
The armory also included AK-47s, handguns, rifles, a shotgun and thousands of rounds of ammunition….
Separately, Gregerson was indicted Dec. 14 in a Virginia federal court and accused of conspiring to illegally purchase firearms through a straw buyer.
He is expected to plead guilty to a charge in that case, which will be transferred to federal court in Detroit, his lawyer David Tholen said.
The plea hearing Thursday was scheduled eight months after Gregerson was arrested in Monroe after allegedly buying fragmentation grenades from an undercover FBI agent.
Gregerson arrived with a handgun that he planned on trading for five fragmentation grenades, court records show….