Al-Marri Indicted on Terrorism Charges

Feb. 27, 2009— -- A federal grand jury in Peoria, Ill., has charged the lone "enemy combatant" held on U.S. soil with two counts of providing material support to al Qaeda, paving the way for his release from military custody into the criminal justice system.

The indictment against Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, filed Thursday and unsealed today, marks a dramatic shift from the Bush administration's stance that the United States could indefinitely detain terror suspects caught in the U.S. without filing charges.

The indictment "shows our resolve to protect the American people and prosecute alleged terrorists to the full extent of the law," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

"In this administration," he continued, "we will hold accountable anyone who attempts to do harm to Americans, and we will do so in a manner consistent with our values."

Asked why the two-page indictment was lacking specific details of al-Marri's alleged support to al Qaeda, Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said, "We will introduce our evidence at trial and intend to prove our case there. We look forward to prosecuting this case in the criminal justice system and presenting the evidence for a jury to decide al-Marri's guilt or innocence."

One day before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, al-Marri and his family legally entered the United States so he could begin a master's degree program at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill. He had received a bachelor's degree from the same school in 1991.

The U.S. government alleged that he repeatedly attempted to contact an al Qaeda leader suspected of financing the Sept. 11 attacks as part of his alleged involvement as a "sleeper agent," laying in wait to take part in a suspected second-wave attack.

Al-Marri has maintained that he is innocent.

"He understands the charges against him and he's looking forward to switching from military custody to civilian custody," his criminal defense attorney, Andy Savage, told ABC News. "He's looking forward to addressing the allegations against him."

At the time of al-Marri's arrest, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft compared him to Mohammed Atta, the suspected ringleader of the group of hijackers who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.

The government's argument at the time was that the priority was to get information out of al-Marri about potential upcoming terrorist plots, as opposed to trying him for alleged crimes.