Ali Al-Marri Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to Al-Qaeda

Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, 43, a dual national of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaeda. Al-Marri entered his guilty plea at a hearing this afternoon before Judge Michael M. Mihm in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. In so doing, al-Marri admitted that he agreed with others to provide material support or resources to al-Qaeda in the form of personnel, including himself, to work under al-Qaeda’s direction and control with the intent to further the terrorist activity or terrorism objectives of al-Qaeda. Judge Mihm scheduled sentencing for July 30, 2009. At sentencing, al-Marri faces up to 15 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a life term of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment. "Without a doubt, this case is a grim reminder of the seriousness of the threat we as a nation still face," said Attorney General Holder. "But it also reflects what we can achieve when we have faith in our criminal justice system and are unwavering in our commitment to the values upon which the nation was founded and the rule of law." "The facts admitted by al-Marri today demonstrate that he attended terrorist training camps, learned al-Qaeda tradecraft and was dispatched by the highest levels of al-Qaeda to carry out its terrorist objectives in America," said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division. "The many agents, analysts and prosecutors who worked tirelessly on this investigation and prosecution deserve special thanks for their efforts." "Ali al-Marri was an al-Qaeda ‘sleeper’ operative working on U.S. soil and directed by the chief planner of the 9-11 attacks. Al-Marri researched the use of chemical weapons, potential targets and maximum casualties," said Arthur M. Cummings, II, Executive Assistant Director of the FBI’s National Security Branch. "The investigation that disrupted his plot began with tips from local police partners. The investigation that followed took the FBI agents and task force officers around the globe to develop the intelligence to prevent any potential attack and the evidence to bring al-Marri to justice." "Ali al-Marri today admitted that he traveled to central Illinois as an al-Qaeda operative the day before the Sept.11, 2001, attacks to plan and prepare for future acts of terrorism within the United States," said Jeffrey B. Lang, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois. "Al-Marri’s admissions, in open court and after again being advised of his right to a jury trial, confirm the many details of the government’s findings as a result of the exemplary investigative efforts by the FBI and other agencies." On Jan. 22, 2009, the President directed the Attorney General to lead an interagency review of the case involving al-Marri, who had been detained as an enemy combatant by the Defense Department since June 2003. As a result of that review and an examination of the evidence gathered during the long-term investigation of al-Marri, the Justice Department decided to charge al-Marri in federal court. On Feb. 26, 2009, a federal grand jury in the Central District of Illinois returned a two-count indictment charging al-Marri with conspiring with others to provide material support to al-Qaeda and providing material support to al-Qaeda. Al-Marri was later transferred from the custody of the Defense Department to the custody of the Justice Department and brought to the Central District of Illinois for trial on the two-count indictment. As part of the plea agreement announced today, the Justice Department has agreed to dismiss the second count of the indictment. In pleading guilty, al-Marri has admitted the following facts, as spelled out in the plea agreement. Statement of Facts Between 1998 to 2001, al-Marri attended various terrorist training camps where he learned the use of weapons and operational security tradecraft that al-Qaeda employed to avoid detection, concea