'Jihad Jane' sentenced to 10 years in prison
The US woman part of a plot to murder a cartoonist who portrayed Mohammed as a dog has been jailed for 10 years.
Colleen LaRose, who dubbed herself "Jihad Jane", claimed in court she was "in a trance" when she hatched a plot to kill Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks.
But now, after the sentencing, LaRose said "I don't want to be in jihad no more".
LaRose was facing a life sentence for her role in the scheme, where extreme Islamists were offering a $10,000 reward for anyone who killed the artist.
But how did a housewife in her 40s become "Jihad Jane"?
A 2012 Reuters investigative report described LaRose's troubled life before she converted to Islam: childhood rapes by her biological father, teenage prostitution, heavy drug abuse and failed marriages. LaRose said that her father's sexual assaults, confirmed by confidential court records, began in second grade.
"I survived a lot of things that should have rightfully have killed me," LaRose said in an exclusive interview from jail in 2012.
LaRose's story has helped prosecutors and FBI agents better understand the roots of homegrown extremism, U.S. officials said.
LaRose was living with a oft-travelling boyfriend in 2007 when a romantic encounter with a Muslim man sparked an interest in Islam. After months of learning online, LaRose said, she converted to Islam and later watched videos of alleged U.S. and Israeli atrocities against Palestinian children that radicalized her.
By 2008, prosecutors said, "she had managed to align herself with violent terrorists who valued her ability and persistence as their online predator, or ‘hunter,'" recruiting new fighters.
"I just loved my brothers so much, when they would tell me stuff, I would listen to them, no matter what," LaRose told Reuters. "And I also was ... lost."
In 2009, LaRose followed instructions from an al Qaeda operative in Pakistan and flew to Europe for the plot to kill the Swedish artist. But after six weeks, largely in Ireland, LaRose became frustrated with the mission's pace and returned to Philadelphia, where she was arrested.
Ali Damache, her alleged handler in Ireland, remains jailed there, fighting extradition to the United States on terrorism charges. Jamie Paulin Ramirez, who flew from Colorado to marry Damache in Ireland, pleaded guilty to related terrorism charges. She may be sentenced on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Khalid, who grew up in Pakistan, lived a double-life after moving to Maryland - as "a polite and studious 15-year-old" and "a tireless soldier for violent jihad." He helped al Qaeda by translating videos from Urdu to English, inciting others, and aided LaRose as she smuggled a stolen U.S. passport to a terrorist, they said.
After pleading guilty, LaRose and Khalid each met more than 20 times with US authorities, providing information about multiple targets. In particular, authorities cited Khalid's insight into al Qaeda's propaganda and recruitment efforts.
LaRose's lawyer, Mark Wilson, could not be reached on Wednesday. Khalid's lawyer, Jeffrey Lindy, declined to comment. But documents in the case show the lawyers will cite deep mitigating psychological issues as they argue for shorter sentences.
For his part, the intended victim said in 2012 that LaRose has served enough time. "They should let her go," Vilks said.
