Egyptian Student in U.S. Pleads Guilty in Fla. Terrorism Case

June 18, 2008— -- Former University of South Florida student Ahmed Mohamed, who admitted producing a video for YouTube about making a remote-controlled car bomb, formally pleaded guilty today to a charge of providing material support to terrorists.

Mohamed, 26, an Egyptian citizen who was studying for a graduate degree in engineering, was stopped by police in South Carolina last August in a routine traffic stop.

The case is being touted as an example of the federal government's ongoing efforts since 9/11 to get local police to help them locate and prosecute terrorism suspects.

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According to the plea agreement's statement of facts, a sheriff's deputy with the Berkeley County Sherriff's Office in South Carolina became suspicious when Mohamed and his companion, fellow USF student Youisef Meghded, did not initially stop when they were pulled over for speeding. The officer said he saw Megahed disconnect a power cord from a laptop computer as he approached the car.

The deputy searched the vehicle. According to court records, he found safety fuses, several sections of cut PVC piping containing a potassium nitrate explosive mixture and containers filled with gasoline. The pair was arrested that night for transporting explosives.

Following the arrest, the FBI in Tampa and South Carolina began an investigation with the the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Later, after examining the computer in the car that night, authorities discovered the bomb-making video, which led to the terrorism charges.

The plea deal states that "Subsequent FBI analysis of defendant Mohamed's laptop computer disclosed a large number of file folders containing information relating to the manufacture and use of bombs, rockets and other explosives, including several video recordings showing the use of such devices to attack and destroy manned military vehicles."

In a superseding indictment, Mohamed later was charged with providing material support to terrorists and several other charges that could have put him in prison for life.

But under today's plea agreement, prosecutors dropped all the other charges in exchange for a guilty plea on a single count of providing material support. Mohamed faces a maximum of 15 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

According to the guilty plea, Mohamed placed a video on YouTube with the user name "Michaljebral" where he demonstrated how to use a remote control car as the detonator for an explosive device, saying "We can make an explosion from a distance. Instead of brethren going to, to carry out martyrdom operations," Mohamed said in the video.

In the plea agreement, Mohamed admitted "that his purpose in producing the audio/video recording was to teach 'martyrdoms' and 'suiciders' how to save themselves so they could continue to fight the invaders. He said he considered the U.S. military and those fighting with the United States military in Arab countries to be invaders."

Megahed, 21, who was not part of this plea deal, is expected to face trial on the explosives charges later this year. A third man who was arrested on federal firearms charges in the case, Karim Moussaoui, was convicted on April 3. Moussaoui was a non-resident alien and was not permitted under federal law to possess firearms.