The woman who calls herself “Jihad Jane” made her second court appearance today inside a Philadelphia federal courtroom, pleading not guilty to charges of conspiring to provide material to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements to a government official, and attempted identity theft. She had one brief court appearance after she was arrested in October 2009, when she was picked up on passport fraud charges.
Colleen LaRose, or “Jihad Jane,” was led into the packed courtroom with her hands cuffed behind her back — her hair pulled loosely in a ponytail with tight cornrow braids.
LaRose, 46, who is accused of going online to recruit men and women with U.S. passports to help her wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe, appeared to be in good spirits. She smiled warmly at her team of federal public defenders. She in return got a pat on the back from one of them, as a U.S. Marshal turned a clanky sounding key on her handcuffs, loosening the steel around her tiny wrists.
LaRose, who also goes by the alias, “Fatima Rose,” stands just 4′ 11” tall and weighs roughly 100 pounds. Between her slight build, and her sheepish grin, she hardly seems like a woman bent on terrorism. That is exactly the reason why LaRose, and others like her are so potentially dangerous, according to safety and terrorism experts. Homegrown terror suspects use their physical appearance, and American citizenship to “blend in” and go unnoticed for as long as possible.
The indictment unsealed last week by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, reveals a timeline that prosecutors say shows LaRose’s increasing desire to take part in a plot to kill Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilk.
Vilk drew a sketch in 2007 depicting the prophet Mohamed’s face on the body of a dog, which outraged Muslims. LaRose allegedly used social networking sites and chat rooms to engage in conversations with co-conspirators to “become a martyr in the name of Allah.” Investigators say she also made plans to help others in the murder plot obtain residency in a European country so that they could be near their target. Their plan, according to the indictment, was to kill Vilk “in a way that the whole Kufar (non-believer) world would get frightened.”
When LaRose was initially questioned by federal agents she said that she never solicited funds, made terrorist postings, and had never used the name “Jihad Jane.”
According to investigators with the U.S. Department of Justice, LaRose is part of the “evolving nature of the threat we face.” LaRose was ordered to remain in custody at this Federal Detention Center.
Federal Detention Center Philadelphia, PA
A trial date was set for May third. If convicted of the charges, she could receive a life sentence and a $1 million fine.