'Jihad Jane' Pleads Guilty
The AP reports:
A suburban woman who was the live-in caretaker for her boyfriend's elderly father calmly told a U.S. judge Tuesday that she had worked feverishly online under the name "Jihad Jane" to support Islamic terrorists and moved overseas to further her plan to kill a Swedish artist who had offended Muslims.
Colleen LaRose, 47, faces the possibility of life in prison after pleading guilty to four federal charges, including conspiracy to murder a foreign target, conspiracy to support terrorists and lying to the FBI.
LaRose, who spent long hours caring for the father, also was building a shadow life online from 2008 to 2009. According to prosecutors, LaRose "worked obsessively on her computer to communicate with, recruit and incite other jihadists," using screen names including "Jihad Jane," "SisterOfTerror," and "ExtremeSister4Life."
LaRose returned to the United States in November 2009 and was immediately taken into FBI custody at Philadelphia International Airport. She remained in secret custody until March, when her indictment was unsealed hours after Irish authorities swept up an alleged terror cell that included another American women, Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, 32, of Leadville, Colo., and her Algerian husband. LaRose had previously denied the allegations against her and had pleaded not guilty before changing her plea Tuesday.
But prosecutors said LaRose and her co-conspirators had hoped her all-American appearance and U.S. citizenship would help her blend in while carrying out their plans.
"Today's guilty plea, by a woman from suburban America who plotted with others to commit murder overseas and to provide material support to terrorists, underscores the evolving nature of the threat we face," said Assistant U.S. Attorney General David Kris.
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