TAMPA – Former University of South Florida student Ahmed Mohamed has agreed to plead guilty to providing material support to terrorists, according to a signed 12-page plea agreement entered onto the docket in U.S. District Court.
Mohamed, an Egyptian citizen, arrested, along with another student, Youssef Megahed, in South Carolina in August after deputies said they found explosive materials in their trunk.
Authorities charged Mohamed (YOUTUBE SCREEN NAME MICHALJEBRAL) with trying to help terrorists in connection with a video they said he made and posted to the Web site YouTube. On the video, authorities said, he showed how to use a remote-controlled toy to detonate a bomb.
The signed plea agreement, by Ahmed Mohamed, is seen here.
Internet Jihad and the use of Youtube came into play in the 12 page plea deal of Ahmed Mohamed, subsequent FBI analysis of the laptop computer of Ahmed Mohamed revealed that one of the last items played was a video recording related to the use and firing of Qassam rockets in the Middle East.
Also Mohamed had used YouTube in July 2007 to upload a 12 minute demo video on how to use the components of a remote control toy car to detonate an explosive device (for car bombs), He stated that he filmed the YouTube audio/video inside his apartment in Tampa Fl using the screen name MICHALJEBRAL.
Under the terms of the plea deal, prosecutors have agreed to dismiss other charges, including counts in an indictment alleging he illegally transported explosives. The maximum penalty for the charge to which Mohamed will plead guilty is 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
Megahed's attorney, public defender Adam Allen, said, "We're happy to see that the person who was responsible for the illegal activity charged in the indictment has decided to plead guilty to it. We're also hopeful that the government intends to dismiss the alleged explosives counts against my client as well."
Reached in Egypt, Mohamed's father, Abdel Latif Mohamed, said he didn't know about the plea agreement and couldn't discuss it until he talked to an attorney.
U.S. Attorney's spokesman Steve Cole declined to say what precipitated the plea deal. "The plea agreement speaks for itself, and at this time we have no further comment," he said.
The plea agreement describes the 12-minute YouTube video in detail, and says Mohamed told investigators his intention in making and distributing the recording was to support attempts by terrorists to murder employees of the United States, including members of the military engaged in their official duties.
Mohamed said he made the video in his Tampa apartment and uploaded it using the screen name Michaljebral. He said he wanted to teach "martyrdoms" and "suiciders" how to save themselves so they could continue to fight the invaders, the plea agreement states.
Mohamed said he considered the U.S. Military and those fighting with the U.S. military in Arab countries to be invaders.
Ahmed Mohamed pleads guilty in Tampa to support of terrorism, his case and the current cases in Toronto and in Atlanta and in London and in Chicago and in Toledo are all linked to Jihad on the internet and Youtube (Mohamed's 12 min how to bomb video, just one of many) as the root cause of their indoctrination into terrorism, the "Jihad Generation".