The grandfather of the missing boy is the Muslim cleric Siraj Wahhaj, who leads a well-known New York City mosque that has attracted radicals over the years, including a man who later helped bomb the World Trade Center in 1993. They said there were no specific threats to the general public or individuals. Potential jurors were being surveyed on their opinions about the Islamic religion, Muslims and alternatives to traditional medicine.Īttorneys for the defendants have said their clients would not be facing terrorism-related charges if they were not Muslim and that prosecutors are highlighting speculative and imagined theories about terrorist activities.ĭefense attorneys also called the FBI’s theories about terrorism activities at the Amalia compound speculative and unfounded. A defense attorney for Leveille has declined comment. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque, declined to answer questions about Leveille’s whereabouts, plea agreement or her status as a potential witness at trial. in 1998 on a visa and work permit that later expired and immigration authorities denied an application for permanent residency.Ī federal prosecutor and Aja Brooks, spokeswoman for the U.S. Neither Leveille nor her attorneys appeared at the defense table in court Monday. Leveille also was initially charged with kidnapping and terrorism-related charges but she agreed to accept a reduced sentence on weapons charges. Johnson has set aside four weeks for the trial, with dozens of witnesses scheduled to testify.Ī grand jury indictment alleges that defendant Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and partner Jany Leveille, a Haitian national, instructed people at the compound to be prepared to engage in jihad and die as martyrs. They also deny the kidnapping charges leveled against three of the defendants.Īlbuquerque-based U.S. law enforcement officers, military members and government employees. The two men and two women on trial have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to support planned attacks on U.S. Federal prosecutors opted for kidnapping charges. Authorities allege the family engaged in firearms and tactical training in preparation for attacks against the government, tied to an apparent belief that the boy would be resurrected as Jesus Christ and provide instructions.Īn exact cause of death was never determined amid accusations that the boy, who was sickly, had been deprived of crucial medication linked to disabilities. The boy's badly decomposed remains were eventually found in an underground tunnel at the compound on the outskirts of Amalia near the Colorado line. (AP) - Jury selection began Monday in federal court as members of an extended family confronted kidnapping and terrorism charges stemming from the search for a missing 3-year-old boy by agents who raided a squalid New Mexico encampment in 2018.
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