PHOENIX – A former roommate of a man charged with orchestrating a foiled attack on an anti-Islam cartoon contest in Texas has testified that the defendant showed increasingly radicalized behavior over world events.
Stefan Verdugo said 44-year-old Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem watched jihadist beheading videos and news coverage of the January 2015 attack on the French newspaper Charlie Hedbo.
He said Kareem, Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi became intent on making a stand for their Muslim brothers when they learned of a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Garland, Texas.
Simpson and Soofi were killed by a police officer at the Texas event last May.
Verdugo was subsequently jailed on sexual assault, kidnapping, aggravated assault and other charges that are unrelated to the Kareem case.
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