Feds Say Calif. Man Wanted to Wage Jihad

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – One of five men from the same suburban mosque arrested earlier this year was indicted Thursday on federal charges alleging he intended "to wage jihad (search) in the United States."

Hamid Hayat (search), 23, was already charged with lying to the FBI (search) about attending a terrorist training camp. The new indictment accuses him of also providing material support to terrorists, the most serious charge that could be filed absent an actual terrorist act, prosecutors said.

"Whatever was taking shape in Lodi isn't going to happen now," U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said.

Scott said doesn't know exactly what was planned in Lodi, an agricultural town of 62,000 about 35 miles south of Sacramento, but he believes that indicting Hayat and deporting two Islamic leaders connected to the mosque put a stop to it.

The government never charged the two religious leaders, but it has alleged the two intended to set up a terror training camp as part of a planned religious school in Lodi. During an immigration hearing last month, an FBI agent testified that at the camp, "individuals would be taught ... to commit acts of violence against the U.S."

The indictment handed up in Sacramento on Thursday alleges Hayat provided support and resources for carrying out acts of terror between March 2003 and June 2005, when he was arrested shortly after returning to the United State from Pakistan.

Hayat "intended, upon receipt of orders from other individuals, to wage jihad (holy war) in the United States," it says.

Prosecutors have said Hayat acknowledged that in videotaped interrogations, but said he was still awaiting orders.

If convicted of all charges, he could face up to 31 years in prison.

Hayat's attorney, Wazhma Mojaddidi, said prosecutors still offered no concrete evidence that her client attended the camp. "They're just relabeling it. It's really the same evidence," she said.

Hayat and his father, Umer Hayat, were among the five men arrested in June after a more than three year federal investigation into alleged terrorist activities in Lodi. Authorities say the investigation included conversations secretly taped by an informant.

The two religious leaders, Shabbir Ahmed and Muhammad Adil Khan, were deported to Pakistan after dropping their opposition to immigration charges. Khan's son was deported with his father last month. Ahmed was deported Wednesday, according to his attorney.

During an immigration hearing last month, FBI agent Gary Schaaf testified that Muhammad Adil Khan got orders from a Taliban commander tied to Usama bin Laden (search) and passed them to Ahmed. Schaaf said Hamid Hayat told interrogators he was to receive orders from Ahmed.

The indictment Thursday repeats the charges against Hayat and his father of lying to the FBI, but it does not add the more serious charges for Hayat's father.

Both Hayats are being held without bond pending a hearing Friday.

In a court filing opposing bail, prosecutors said the FBI found a book in Hamid Hayat's room entitled "Virtues of Jihad" by Mohammad Masood Azhar, who they say is "founder and leader of the known Pakistani extremist group Jaish-i-Muhammed."

The book "invites every Muslim to join jihad," prosecutors said.