Danish Cartoon Jihadis Nabbed in the Illinois Halal Meathouse Raid

Back on the 20th I ran the strange and silenced story: Hush Hush: Huge Fed/FBI Raid on Chicago Halal Goat Meat Slaughterhouse. The FBI conducted a huge raid: "neighbors who saw the raid on Sunday told CBS 2 it was a huge operation, involving more than 100 agents, police officers and even what one believed to be National Guard troops.

"Sources say during the raid, the driveway was filled with more than 50 government vehicles. There was a helicopter flying overhead and a command center set up. On top of it were government sharpshooters with rifles at the ready."

Well, wonder no more: the Religion of Peaceniks working in the halal slaughterhouse were plotting to kill the Danish newspaper publisher,  Flemming Rose, and the accidental counter jihadi cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard. "Dubbed 'The Mickey Mouse Project,' the two men are accused of plotting to target the employees at facilities of the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, which ran the cartoon."

From the Chicago Sun Times:

Two Chicago men have been arrested on federal charges that link them to planning terrorist acts — including targeting a Danish newspaper that published a controversial cartoon of the prophet Mohammed in 2005.

Dubbed “The Mickey Mouse Project,” the two men are accused of plotting to target the employees at facilities of the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, which ran the cartoon.

The cartoon depicted Mohammed wearing a bomb as a turban with a lit fuse. It sparked violent riots across the Muslim world, as well as a plot to assassinate Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist who sketched the image.

David Coleman Headley, 49, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, are charged in separate criminal complaints made public today by federal authorities in Chicago.

The FBI arrested Headley at O’Hare Airport Oct. 3, while he was was boarding a flight ultimately bound for Pakistan.

After he was picked up by the FBI on Oct. 3, Headley allegedly confessed to the federal agents that he surveilled the Jyllands-Posten offices in Copenhagen and Arhus, Denmark as part of a plot to attack the facility, according to charges.

But Headley told agents he had refocused the plot away from the entire building and narrowed it to Westergaard and the paper’s cultural editor, Flemming Rose: “Whom Headley felt were directly responsible for the cartoons,” the complaint states.

He also allegedly told agents he did surveillance Danish troops that were posted nearby. And he told agents he was trained by a terrorist organization called Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to his criminal complaint.

Headley was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts involving murder and maiming outside the United States and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the alleged overseas terrorism conspiracy.

Rana, a native of Pakistan who is a Canadian citizen, was arrested Oct. 18 at his home on the North Side of Chicago.

Rana owns several businesses, including First World Immigration Services, which has offices on Devon Avenue in Chicago, New York and Toronto.

Rana was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorism conspiracy that involved Headley and at least three other specific individuals in Pakistan.

On Oct. 18, the FBI carried out a search warrant on a Grundy County plant in Kinsman, Ill., authorities said is owned by Rana. The plant is used to slaughter goats and sheep according to Muslim religious requirements, providing “halal” meat to Muslim customers and to a grocery store in Chicago.

Witnesses said about 100 agents carried out the search warrant, some wearing military apparel similar to the uniforms of U.S. National Guardsmen. Helicopters, trucks and SUVs could be seen in front of the building during the raid and stayed until at least 9 p.m.

According to the allegations made public today, Headley was involved in surveillance of potential targets in Denmark during two trips there this year, in January and July, and that they got to know each other at a school they attended in Pakistan.

“Because of the serious nature of the allegations, I think it would be inappropriate to comment on the substance of the allegations,” said Headley’s lawyer, John Theis.

Rana's lawyer, Patrick Blegen, said: “Mr. Rana is a well-respected businessman in the Chicagoland community. He adamantly denies the charges and eagerly awaits his opportunity to contest them in court and to clear his and his family’s name. We would ask that the community respect the fact that these are merely allegations and not proof.”

Last year, newspapers in Europe reprinted the controversial cartoon, after three people were arrested in connection with the alleged assassination plot.

In October 2008, authorities say Headley, using the name Daood Gilani, posted a message to a Yahoo group called “abdalians.”

According to the charges made public today, the posting read: “Everything is not a joke . . . We are not rehearsing a skit on Saturday Night Live. Making fun of Islam is making fun of Rasoosallah SAW (Messenger of Allah, Peace be on Him) . . . Call me old-fashioned but I feel disposed towards violence for the offending parties, be they cartoonists from Denmark or Sherry Jones (Author of Jewel Medina) or Irshad Manji . . . They never started debates with folks who slandered our Prophet, they took violent action. Even if God doesn’t give us the opportunity to bring our intentions to fruition, we will claim ajr (a religious reward) for it . . ."

UPDATES: Actually many updates to this story. Rusty has it here: (hat tip Louis)

Headley was picked up as he was leaving the country on his way to Pakistan. That along with the material support charge indicates that the two were connected either to al Qaeda or to another Pakistan based terror group, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba. In the wake of the arrests, Dinah, several readers, and myself have been trying to find out as much as possible about Tahawar Rana. There are several people by that name with internet tracks, but two immediately raised suspicions. One, described as a doctor in Chicago and another who runs an import business in Canada.

UPDATE: Even though the Tahawar Rana from Chicago is a Canadian citizen, it turns out that he is not the same Tahawar Rana affiliated with the Masjid Bilal. Sorry for that. The confusion came when Rana was ID'd as Canadian. I'm retracting parts of the story that mentions any affiliation between the Rana arrested and another man of the same name affiliated with Masjid Bilal. There is no connection to that mosque.

Dinah also tracked down a Halal meat website he runs where he tries to recruit foreigners to work at his meat processing plant.

But wait, there's more, because it seems that Mr. Rana also is somehow connected to an immigration company which it appears he may also own.

His "First World Management Services" also runs the "General Worker" website which claims to be a division of "First World Immigration Services Inc". The website is registered to "Rana, Tahawar Rana,", spelled differently but at the same address matching that of one of Tawahar Rana's businesses.

UPDATE: VOA adds a few details confirming two things we reported earlier:

1) "Tahawwur" seems to be the official spelling of Rana's first name, as we earlier reported and he does own an immigration company. So, let the Google searches begin!

2) The purpose of the trip to Pakistan was to meet up with jihadi groups there.

Here's the pertinent info:

The Justice Department says the two were plotting the attack with Pakistani-based terrorist organizations...

The Justice Department says Headley visited two offices of the Jyllands-Posten in Denmark on the pretense he was visiting on behalf of an immigration group, First World Immigration Services.

[...]

UPDATE: If the quiet and polite neighbors who stuck to themselves didn't raise red flags, then this should have:

The business, which says “Immigrant Law Center’’ on the front door, appeared empty and dark today.

UPDATE: Okay, this isn't the complaint, but it's the presser sent out by the DOJ with the complaint. I'm including the whole thing at the very end of this post below.

A cursory scan brings up three points.

1) Headley seems to have confessed the whole thing a few weeks ago leading to Rana's arrest.

2) Headley attended terror training in Pakistan.

3) It looks like the plot involved a third person, a Kashmiri who was going to be the actual gunman. In addition, Headley "reported" (whatever that means) to several bigger fish in the Pakistani terror networks, including one who works for/with al Qaeda.

UPDATE: Complaint against Rana. Complaint against Headley. I still need some time to digest this. If you see anything interesting/alarming in either complaint, leave a comment or email me.

UPDATE: Some highlights from the presser:

First World Immigration Services, which has offices on Devon Avenue in Chicago, as well as in New York and Toronto

Hmmm, it seems his company was bigger than a cursory glance would suggest.

Again, am I the only one deeply troubled by a terror supporter who also helps people immigrate to the US?

As expected, an internet forum is mentioned. Headley left messages at this Yahoo group expressing a desire to harm those behind the Danish Mohammad cartoon publications. One has to wonder whether or not these public internet statements were instrumental in putting the pair under surveillance? The group doesn't seem like the kind of place where Islamists would be welcome.

UPDATE: Yes, an al Qaeda connection. This year:

Headley traveled with Individual A to Pakistan’s FATA region and met with Kashmiri

That would be Ilyas Kashmiri, who the complaint claims works with al Qaeda.

UPDATE: I notice a difference in the press release, the media reports, and what was actually said by "Individual A" to the Yahoo Group. The press is reporting it as a kind of generic threat against the Jyllands-Posten. The context of the threat, though, was the Muslims today should act like Muslims in Muhammad's time -- ie, kill those who insult him:

call me old fashioned, but I feel disposed to violence for the offending parties, be they cartoonists from Denmark or Sherry Jones (Author of Jewel of Medina) or Irshad Mandji (Liberal Muslim trying to make lesbianism acceptable in Islam, amongst other things) ... they never started debates with folks who slandered the Prophet, they took violent action.

Of those mentioned though, only the sentiment against the newspaper that published images of Mohammad actually seemed to result in a terroristic plot.

Here's the whole press release:

CHICAGO – Two Chicago men have been arrested on federal charges for their alleged roles in conspiracies to provide material support and/or to commit terrorist acts against overseas targets, including facilities and employees of a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005, federal law enforcement officials announced today. There was no imminent danger in the Chicago area, officials said, adding that the charges are unrelated to recent terror plot arrests in Boston, New York, Colorado, Texas and central Illinois.

The defendants charged in separate criminal complaints unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago are David Coleman Headley, 49, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, also known as Tahawar Rana, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The complaints remained under seal temporarily after the defendants’ arrests, with court approval, so as not to compromise further investigative activity.

Headley, a U.S. citizen who changed his name from Daood Gilani in 2006 and resides primarily in Chicago, was arrested on Oct. 3, 2009, by the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force at O’Hare International Airport before boarding a flight to Philadelphia, intending to travel on to Pakistan. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts involving murder and maiming outside the United States and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to that overseas terrorism conspiracy.

Rana, a native of Pakistan and citizen of Canada who also primarily resides in Chicago, was arrested on Oct. 18, 2009, at his home by federal agents. Rana is the owner of several businesses, including First World Immigration Services, which has offices on Devon Avenue in Chicago, as well as in New York and Toronto. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorism conspiracy that involved Headley and at least three other specific individuals in Pakistan.

Both men have been held in federal custody since each was arrested. If convicted, Headley faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for conspiracy to murder or maim persons abroad, while Headley and Rana each face a maximum of 15 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism.

On Oct. 18, JTTF agents executed search warrants in connection with the investigation at four locations: Headley’s and Rana’s residences on the north side of Chicago, Rana’s immigration business in Chicago, and a farm he owns in Kinsman, Ill., approximately 80 miles southwest of Chicago, which is used to provide halal meat for Muslim customers, as well as a grocery store in Chicago.
According to both complaints, since at least late 2008 until Oct. 3, 2009, as part of the conspiracy to murder and maim persons abroad, Headley allegedly identified and conducted surveillance of potential targets of a terrorist attack in Denmark on two separate trips to Denmark in January and July 2009, and reported and attempted to report on his efforts to other conspirators in Pakistan. As part of the conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism, Rana allegedly helped arrange Headley’s travels overseas and conceal their true nature and purpose to surveil potential terror targets overseas, and discussed potential targets for attack with Headley.

Headley allegedly reported and attempted to report on his overseas surveillance to other conspirators, according to the affidavits, including:
<
Ilyas Kashmiri, identified as the operational chief of the Azad Kashmir section of Harakat-ul Jihad Islami (HUJI), a Pakistani-based terrorist organization with links to al Qaeda. Kashmiri, who is presently believed to be in Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) region in northwestern Pakistan, issued a statement this month that he was alive and working with al Qaeda;
<
“Individual A” (who is identified as Individual A in the Headley affidavit and as Individual B in the Rana affidavit), who is associated with Kashmiri, as well as with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), another Pakistani-based terrorist organization;
<
an individual identified as “Lashkar-e-Taiba Member A” (LeT Member A), who has substantial influence and responsibility within the organization and whose identity is known to the government.
“The public should be reassured that there was no imminent danger in the Chicago area. However, law enforcement has the duty to be vigilant to guard against not just those who would carry out attacks here on our soil but those who plot on our soil to help carry out violent attacks overseas. I wish to express my deep appreciation to the FBI agents and other members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force for their extremely hard work on this matter,” said Mr. Fitzgerald.

“The criminal complaints unsealed today have exposed a serious plot against overseas targets by two Chicago-based men working with Pakistani-based terrorist organizations. Information developed during this investigation was shared with our foreign partners as we worked together to mitigate these threats. This case is a reminder that the threat posed by international terrorist organizations is global in nature and requires constant vigilance at home and abroad,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

“This investigation demonstrates the well-established relationships that we have with our law enforcement partners, both foreign and domestic. We work closely with state, local and federal law enforcement agencies in the United States, as well as with our overseas partners, to identify and disrupt threats here and abroad,” said Mr. Grant.

According to the affidavits in both cases, Headley at times has claimed to be a consultant with or representative of Rana’s business, First World Immigration Services, but appears to perform little if any actual work for the business. In addition, Headley’s apartment in Chicago is leased to an individual who is deceased. Despite his apparent lack of financial resources and substantial employment, Headley has traveled extensively since the second half of 2008, including multiple trips to Pakistan and various countries in Europe. Postings to an internet group for graduates of a military school in the Pakistani town of Hasan Abdal (a group that refers to itself as “abdalians”), reflect that both Rana and Headley have participated in the group and referred to their attendance at that school. The Denmark Project Beginning in late 2008, Headley corresponded extensively with Individual A and LeT Member A regarding what they referred to in coded communications as the “Mickey Mouse Project,” “mmp,” and “the northern project,” according to the affidavit. The Mickey Mouse Project allegedly involved planning for one or more attacks at facilities and employees of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper that in 2005 published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, to which many Muslims took great offense. In October 2008, Headley allegedly posted a message to the “abdalians” internet discussion group stating that “I feel disposed towards violence for the offending parties,” referring to the Danish cartoonists and others who he identified “as making fun of Islam.”

Using coded language, Rana, Headley, Individual A and LeT Member A allegedly have referred to this plot, as well as discussions of other targets, as “investments,” “projects,” “business,” and “action,” and have described their hopes for success both in terms of receiving religious awards, as well as getting “rich,” “richer,” and making “profit.” Between August 2008 and Dec. 7, 2008, Headley sent multiple email messages from internet addresses located in Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan, the charges allege. On Dec. 7, 2008, just before traveling from Pakistan to the United States that same day, Headley alleged used one of multiple email accounts to store a detailed list of items for himself, which he titled “Mickey Mouse.” Included on the list (contained in the affidavits) were the following items:
Route Design (train, bus, air)
Cross (Cover Authenticator)
Trade? Immigration?
Ad? (Lost Luggage) (Business) (Entry?)
Kings Square (French Embassy)
...
Counter surveillance (magic eye)
...
Security (armed)?
In January 2009, Headley traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, and Rana allegedly arranged portions of his travel. During the trip, Headley allegedly visited two different offices of the Jyllands-Posten — in Copenhagen and Arhus, Denmark. The Copenhagen office is located in Kings Square near the French Embassy. Headley falsely told Jyllands-Posten employees that he was visiting on behalf of First World Immigration Services, which he said was considering opening offices in Denmark and might be interested in advertising the business in the newspaper. While in Denmark, Headley instructed Rana to be alert for an email from a Jyllands-Posten sales representative, and to ask First World’s Toronto and New York offices to “remember me,” in case a newspaper representative called. According to the complaints, Rana corresponded from Chicago with a representative of the Jyllands-Posten by email in which he pretended to be Headley.

After visiting Denmark, Headley traveled to Pakistan to meet with Individual A. During this visit, Headley traveled with Individual A to Pakistan’s FATA region and met with Kashmiri. Before returning to Chicago in June 2009, Headley sent his will to Rana and Rana responded by sending a coded message establishing a new email account, the complaint alleges.

In July and August 2009, Headley exchanged a series of emails with LeT Member A, including an exchange in which Headley asked if the Denmark project was on hold, and whether a visit to India that LeT Member A had asked him to undertake was for the purpose of surveilling targets for a new terrorist attack. These emails reflect that LeT Member A was placing a higher priority on using Headley to assist in planning a new attack in India than on completing the planned attack in Denmark. After this time, Headley and Individual A allegedly continued focusing on the plan with Kashmiri to attack the newspaper, rather than working with LeT, the complaint alleges.

In late July 2009, Headley traveled again to Copenhagen and to other locations in Europe, and Rana again arranged portions of his travel. When Headley returned to the United States, he falsely told border inspectors that he was traveling on business as a representative of First World Immigration, although his luggage contained no papers or other documents relating to First World.
After returning to Chicago in August 2009, Headley allegedly used coded language to repeatedly inquire if Individual A had been in touch with Kashmiri regarding planning for the attack, and expressing concern that Individual A’s communications with Kashmiri had been cut off. In early September 2009, Headley and Rana took a lengthy car ride during which they discussed the activities of the other individuals, including past terrorist acts, and Headley discussed with Rana five actions involving targets that expressly included “Denmark.” In conversations with Rana and Individual A in August and September 2009, Headley indicated that if the “doctor” (alleged to be a reference to Kashmiri) and his people were unable to assist, then Headley would perform the planned operation himself.

In September 2009, after initial press reports indicated that Kashmiri had been killed in a drone attack in Pakistan, Headley and Individual A allegedly had a series of coded conversations in which they discussed the reports of Kashmiri’s death and what it meant for the projects they were planning. Individual A sought to reassure and encourage Headley, telling him, among other things, that “[t]his is business sir; these types of things happen.” On Sept. 20, 2009, Headley allegedly told a family member words to the effect that he had spoken to Rana and they agreed that “business must go on.”

In a Sept. 21, 2009, telephone conversation, Individual A indicated to Headley that Kashmiri was alive and “doing well.” In a subsequent conversation on Sept. 30, 2009, Individual A again assured Headley that Kashmiri, whom he referred to as “Pir Sahib,” was “absolutely all right” and had not gotten “married,” which was code for being killed. Headley asked Individual A if it was possible to now have a meeting with Kashmiri and Individual A responded that Kashmiri “just today, was asking about you” (Headley).

According to the affidavit, Headley stated in conversations last month that he intended to travel to Pakistan in early October to meet with Individual A and Kashmiri, and he was arrested on Oct. 3 as he prepared to board a flight from Chicago to Philadelphia, intending to travel on to Pakistan. During a search of Headley’s luggage, a memory stick was recovered that contained approximately 10 short videos of Copenhagen, including video focused on the Jyllands-Posten building in King’s Square taken both during the day and night, as well as a nearby Danish military barracks and the exterior and interior of Copenhagen’s central train station, consistent with the checklist he stored which mentioned “route design.” In addition, Headley had an airline reservation, allegedly made by Rana, to fly from Atlanta to Copenhagen on Oct. 29, 2009.
The investigation is continuing and is being conducted by the Chicago FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, with particular assistance from the Chicago Police Department, the Illinois State Police and the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Vicki Peters from the Northern District of Illinois, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The public is reminded that a criminal complaint contains mere allegations that are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Comments

[larrysinternetsoapbox.wordpress.com]

If it weren't such a grave matter revealing how widespread and well funded these people are it would take on comic proportions.

All this activity over a stupid cartoon?

So what are they planning against all of us internet bloggers?

It kind of makes me pause . . .

[jj]

larrysinternetsoapbox:

larry, sort of interesting, whether the f.c.c. or al queda gets you first, eh?

john jay
milton freewater, oregon usa

p.s. on this score, i am thinking the f.c.c. far more dangerous.