On August 28, 2002, a federal grand jury in Seattle indicts James Ujaama for conspiring to support the terrorist organization al-Qaida. In the indictment, the U.S. Government alleges that the 36-year-old Denver native, who grew up in Seattle, provided "training, facilities, computer services, safe houses and personnel," to terrorists.
Ujaama was arrested on July 22, 2002, in Denver as a material witness for a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, and had been in custody until the indictment in Seattle was handed up. On September 9, 2002, he entered a plea of not guilty to the indictment.
On April 4, 2003, he pleaded guilty in Seattle to one count of conspiring to provide cash, computers, and fighters to the Taliban. Other counts against Ujaama were dropped, including one charging him with plotting to set up a terrorist camp in Bly, Oregon, and conspiring to kill Americans abroad.
Ujaama was born James Ernest Thompson in Denver and grew up in Seattle where he was a community activist. In 1997, he moved to London.
Sources:
"Grand Jury Indicts Five Believed In Terror Cell," The Seattle Times August 29, 2002 (archives.seattletimes.nwsource.org); David Heath, "Prisoner's Mom Worried About Son," Ibid., September 9, 2002; Seattle Man With Alleged Terrorist Ties Pleads Innocent To Charges," Ibid., September 9, 2002; Mike Carter and Steve Miletich, "Ujaama's Guilty Plea Part of Deal to Testify Against Radical Cleric," Ibid., April 5, 2003.
Note: This essay was updated on August 28, 2003.
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