Jacksonville Jihadi: Florida sadly now has it all (MUGSHOT)
Posted by: Jon Ben-Mayor on 07/20/2013 08:12 AM
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A Jacksonville, FL. man has been arrested for attempting to join a ‘violent jihad’ group and is now facing a 30 year federal prison sentence.
Shelton Thomas Bell, 19, was indicted by a grand jury in Tampa Bay of “conspiring and attempting to provide material support to terrorists”.
WPTV reports that federal prosecutors say Bell had planned to travel to the Arabian Peninsula and join Ansar Al-Sharia, which is an alias for Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula. The group has taken responsibility for multiple attacks on Yemeni forces, including a suicide bombing during a parade in May 2012.
Authorities say Bell and a juvenile traveled to Jordan and made contact with someone who could facilitate their travel to Yemen to participate in violent jihad.
RT gives more details stating that Bell, trained both physically and in practical shooting from May to September 2012. His ‘psychological training’, consisted of desecrating a Christian graveyard, as he together with an unidentified person performed “a night-time mission” at a Jacksonville cemetery, where the twosome vandalized religious statues.
Federal authorities further believe Shelton Thomas Bell also attempted to proselytize juveniles to join jihad, as he made video and audio recordings in a bid to attract potential recruits to the cause.
But the Florida teen’s jihadist ambitions did not stop at vandalism and Internet propaganda.
Bell is also accused of “two counts of grand theft, organized fraud and knowingly and intentionally participating in a motor vehicle crash.”
Having trained for an armed stand-off, Bell bought a pair of black tactical gloves and together with an unnamed minor, travelled to Amman, Jordan, in September 2012, where they got in contact with the terrorist underworld.
Bell remains in Duval County Jail in Jacksonville, where he grew up and his parents still live in a in a small, rural neighborhood. While Bell has an attorney to defend him against the state’s case, a federal public defender could be appointed when on federal charges of aiding terrorists.
Shelton Thomas Bell, 19, was indicted by a grand jury in Tampa Bay of “conspiring and attempting to provide material support to terrorists”.WPTV reports that federal prosecutors say Bell had planned to travel to the Arabian Peninsula and join Ansar Al-Sharia, which is an alias for Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula. The group has taken responsibility for multiple attacks on Yemeni forces, including a suicide bombing during a parade in May 2012.
Authorities say Bell and a juvenile traveled to Jordan and made contact with someone who could facilitate their travel to Yemen to participate in violent jihad.
RT gives more details stating that Bell, trained both physically and in practical shooting from May to September 2012. His ‘psychological training’, consisted of desecrating a Christian graveyard, as he together with an unidentified person performed “a night-time mission” at a Jacksonville cemetery, where the twosome vandalized religious statues.
Federal authorities further believe Shelton Thomas Bell also attempted to proselytize juveniles to join jihad, as he made video and audio recordings in a bid to attract potential recruits to the cause.
But the Florida teen’s jihadist ambitions did not stop at vandalism and Internet propaganda.
Bell is also accused of “two counts of grand theft, organized fraud and knowingly and intentionally participating in a motor vehicle crash.”
Having trained for an armed stand-off, Bell bought a pair of black tactical gloves and together with an unnamed minor, travelled to Amman, Jordan, in September 2012, where they got in contact with the terrorist underworld.
Bell remains in Duval County Jail in Jacksonville, where he grew up and his parents still live in a in a small, rural neighborhood. While Bell has an attorney to defend him against the state’s case, a federal public defender could be appointed when on federal charges of aiding terrorists.
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