Oregon man found guilty in 2010 Christmas tree-lighting terror plot

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, right, allegedly sought to blow up a van during a Portland tree lighting ceremony / AP

PORTLAND, Ore. A federal jury found an Oregon man guilty of federal terrorism charges on Thursday, rejecting the defense team's argument that Mohamed Mohamud was entrapped or induced by a yearlong FBI sting that began to target him when he was a teenager.

Mohamud was accused of leading a plot to detonate a bomb at Portland's 2010 Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. But the device he thought was a bomb was a fake, supplied by undercover FBI agents posing as members of al Qaeda.

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Mohamud sat still, giving no visible reaction as Thursday's verdict was read. His attorney, Steve Sady, later said an appeal was being planned for after the scheduled May 14 sentencing.

"We are disappointed with the verdict," Sady said. "We obviously though he was entrapped."

Prosecutors argued that Mohamud was predisposed to terrorism as early as 15 years old.

Mohamud, now 21, traded emails with an al Qaeda lieutenant later killed in a drone strike. He also told undercover agents he would pose as a college student while preparing for violent jihad.

Mohamud was never called to testify. Instead, the jurors saw thousands of exhibits and heard hours of testimony from friends, parents, undercover FBI agents and experts in counterterrorism, teenage brain development and the psychology of the Muslim world.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight told the jury earlier this week that the decision would be easy. Mohamud pressed a keypad button on a black Nokia cellphone and intended to kill people. Whatever else they might think about the methods of undercover agents or the government's decision to investigate a teenager, the underlying decision was Mohamud's and the motivation was hatred of the West.

Sady had argued that Mohamud wasn't radicalized by online recruiters or friends with jihadist leanings, but rather by a Justice Department hungry for convictions that ignored every caution sign along the way. Undercover agents manipulated Mohamud's faith and plied him with praise and the promise of a life leading other jihadis, Sady said.

Mohamud could be ordered to serve life in prison.

[DavidS934]

Alright, they fixed the spelling error! Its 6:49AM. I didn't watch all night to see exactly when they fixed it, but it did take more than 2 hours. Thanks, CBS.

[elocutionist]

Maybe an "Oregan" is some kind of vegan, only he eats Oreos and their by-products (like Oreo fudge sundaes) exclusively?
Or mabee SeeBS Nooz spelz fonetiklee?

Anyway, nice pic ("Hey-b Fat-b Albert-b, how-b are-b you-b, ba-b bee-b!")

[eroteme2]

Faces life in prison. I wonder what this means. Does life in prison mean 20 years?

[aintfakin]

Stupid deluded people
throw your life away for a god that doesnt exist....or if he does, doesnt give a rat'sazz. The fact there a number of these brain dead zombies doesn't speak well for the survival of the human race

[guycmcd]

there are no islamo-fascist terrorists...O has told us and his administration to stop using those words or that phrase...in that way, Al Queda is no longer a problem and had nothing to do with Benghazi...see, it's all fixed, now...

[aintfakin]

never mind he has killed more al qada....not to mention somali pirates than anyone before him. The only reason republicans take military action is if there is money in it for them

[DavidS934]

Maybe they can't fix it! The misspelling is in the URL too. Maybe they have to delete this one and post it as a new Article.

[DavidS934]

CBX News -- where spelling is optional.

[DavidS934]

Its back to 14 camments -- what did we get moderated? Anyhue -- 8:19PM, 2 haurs anline, and CBS still spells Oregan.

[ugleyme]

Lighten up folks. You've never made a typo? The story is far more important than a spelling error.

[DavidS934]

You are right. Spelling mistakes happen and the article is more important. But it makes me wonder how much effort the writer put into this. They can't even spell check. It's hard to take this news story seriously.

[DavidS934]

8PM. 15 Comments. It still says Oregan.