NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2009

Zazi Pleads Not Guilty to Terror Charges

Afghan Immigrant at Center of Alleged Bomb Attack Against NYC; Authorities Continue Search for Accomplices

    • In this courtroom sketch, suspected al-Qaida terrorist Najibullah Zazi, far right, is shown with his lawyer J. Michael Dowling, second from left, and assistant U.S. attorneys Berit Berger, far left, and Jefferey Knox, second from right, Brooklyn Federal Court, New York, Sept. 29, 2009.

      In this courtroom sketch, suspected al-Qaida terrorist Najibullah Zazi, far right, is shown with his lawyer J. Michael Dowling, second from left, and assistant U.S. attorneys Berit Berger, far left, and Jefferey Knox, second from right, Brooklyn Federal Court, New York, Sept. 29, 2009.  (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)

    • Najibullah Zazi is escorted off an NYPD helicopter by U.S. Marshals after being extradited from Denver, Colo., Friday, Sept. 25, 2009. Zazi was sent to New York to face charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in a plot law enforcement has said was focused on blowing up commuter trains.

      Najibullah Zazi is escorted off an NYPD helicopter by U.S. Marshals after being extradited from Denver, Colo., Friday, Sept. 25, 2009. Zazi was sent to New York to face charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in a plot law enforcement has said was focused on blowing up commuter trains.  (AP Photo/NYPD)

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  • Play CBS Video Video A Terrorist Street-Vendor

    Accused terrorist, Najibullah Zazi is in prison facing a court hearing. Investigators are trying to figure out how the life of a one-time street vendor led to this moment. Hari Sreenivasan reports.

  • Video U.S. Terror Suspect Charged

    Amidst a high-profile investigation, FBI officials have charged Denver resident Najibullah Zazi with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in an alleged al Qaeda terror plot. Bob Orr reports.

(CBS/AP)  Last Updated at 4:20 p.m. Eastern

An Afghan immigrant pleaded not guilty Tuesday to using beauty products to build bombs for an attack on New York City - an alleged plot authorities say was helped by at least three accomplices whose whereabouts and level of involvement haven't been revealed.

"The conspiracy here is international in scope," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Knox told a federal judge in the city's Brooklyn borough.

Knox told the court that the case was going to be "complex" and that a voluminous amount of evidence would be presented at the upcoming trial, reports CBS News producer Pat Milton, who was inside the federal court.

Najibullah Zazi never spoke as his lawyer entered the plea in a packed courtroom. He was ordered held without bail.

Zazi, wearing navy blue prison garb with a bright orange T-shirt underneath, appeared calm and confident, reports Milton. He showed no emotion as he was led from the court by several U.S. marshals.

CBS' Milton reports from the courthouse.

"You get the impression he's a nice guy, don't you?" defense attorney Michael Dowling told the reporters afterward.

The 24-year-old Denver airport shuttle driver has been the only alleged terrorist identified so far. But authorities have said three people traveled from New York City to suburban Denver this summer and used stolen credit cards to help Zazi stockpile products containing hydrogen peroxide and acetone - common ingredients for homemade bombs.

Zazi's complete indictment
Zazi's detention motion

Dowling admitted that his client visited Pakistan last year, and made purchases earlier this year at a beauty supply shop in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado. But he added, "Those acts are not illegal" and cautioned against a "rush to judgment."

Asked about possible accomplices, the lawyer said, "I don't know the names of anybody else that allegedly conspired with Mr. Zazi. ... Those names have not been produced."

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly refused Tuesday to discuss the potential of other plotters at large, but insisted there was no threat to the city.

The plot "has been broken up," Kelly said. "I see no danger emanating ... from the people involved in this investigation."

Prosecutor: Attack Was to Mark 9/11 Anniv.
Digital Fingerprints Led Feds to Zazi
Zazi Indicted for Plotting Terror Attack
NYPD May Have Blown Cover in Terror Probe
AG Holder: NYC Terror Plot "Very Serious"

Prosecutors allege that Zazi has admitted that while living in Queens, he went to Pakistan and received explosives training from al Qaeda. Security videos and store receipts show that when he returned and moved to Colorado, he and three others bought several bottles of beauty products over the course of several weeks, court papers said.

On Sept. 6, Zazi took some of his products into a Colorado hotel room outfitted with a stove on which he later left acetone residue, authorities said. He repeatedly sought another person's help cooking up the bomb, "each communication more urgent in tone than the last," the papers said.

The FBI was listening to Zazi and becoming increasingly concerned as the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and a New York visit by President Barack Obama approached, officials said. After he rented a car on Sept. 9 and drove to New York, investigators say they secretly searched the vehicle and found a laptop computer with bomb-making instructions.

On Sept. 10, Zazi told the Queens imam in an intercepted phone call that he feared he was being watched, court papers said. The imam later tipped Zazi off, saying police had come around and asked questions, the papers said.

Zazi cut short a five-day trip and flew back to Denver on Sept. 12. He was arrested a week later and initially charged along with his father and the imam with lying to investigators.

Zazi's next court date has been set for Dec. 3.


© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Add a Comment See all 11 Comments
by wyodutch September 30, 2009 7:34 AM EDT
Who's a bigger threat to the Republic... Najibullah Zazi and his beauty parlor purchases or Bush, Obama, and the federal government with their proclamations that 'They' have the authority to arrest and permanently imprison anyone they consider to be a threat?
.
We're at war with Eurasia
We've always been at war with Eurasia
Eurasia has weapons of mass destruction
Eurasians hate us because we're free
Long Live Big Brother!

The chocolate ration has been increased from 5 grams to 3 grams.
Reply to this comment
by hermitdave September 29, 2009 9:58 PM EDT
I don't think I can go with the idea that there are no stupid lawyers.
Reply to this comment
by chelokee September 29, 2009 7:52 PM EDT
This guy is a DORK just like Qaddafi is. Speaking of Qaddafi, I challenge him to prove he ACTUALLY graduated from University of Libya with a Law Degree like he says he did. I think Qaddafi is a liar and a fraud. He is too stupid to go to law school.
Reply to this comment
by hermitdave September 29, 2009 5:59 PM EDT
Coming from a 10 year old writer this reply is expected. This is the intelligence level of anyone who believes there is a real war on terror. The phony war on terror is just like the phony war on drugs, a money making venture by some very evil people.

Ask you mom to explain that I never compared Blacks to terrorists, I compared their treatment in the old days to the treatment of Muslim men today. Now relax have a cookie and a glass of milk.
Reply to this comment
by hermitdave September 29, 2009 4:05 PM EDT
The original phony war on terror must be kept alive at all costs. Muslim men have become the Mississippi BLACK man of the 1930's. Sure America has progressed past the point of just hanging a man without charges or trial. The hanging may have ended but the arrest on dubious charges and indefinite imprisonment has not changed. The public of course reacts to the demonizing of the races of man. All the planners of 9/11/01 had to do was make sure those men who would be involved with the actual destruction in NYC, Pentagon, PA., showed the face of ISLAM.

Now all the government has to do to keep the phony war on terror on the minds of the people is just pick up a Muslim man, preferably with a beard, and have the press list all the evil things he was planning to do. Notice in this case the tie in to 9/11/01. Never since 9/11/01 has there been a legit honest trial and conviction of any alleged terrorist. In fact the judge in one trial allowed the prosecution to show the video of 9/11/01 to the jury. This was about as fair as the judge who let Manson's jury see the HEADLINE--NIXON SAYS HE IS GUILTY. This is not what Americans should think of as a fair trial.
Reply to this comment
by fedupwithmess September 29, 2009 1:04 PM EDT
This terriost is sooo guilty. He knows he was going to try to blow up something....coward.
Reply to this comment
by gangesdak September 29, 2009 12:17 PM EDT
There is something in Koran that encourages its followers to be terrorists. Anyone knows, what.
Reply to this comment
by Ms_enza September 29, 2009 12:29 PM EDT
Yeah, not like Christians...
by fedupwithmess September 29, 2009 1:04 PM EDT
Its called an eye for an eye.
by Stevenapoli7 September 29, 2009 12:00 PM EDT
This guy is young enough to benefit from a nice long life sentence. His cell mate should be a 6'6 dude who murders people with his bare hands.
Reply to this comment
by Ms_enza September 29, 2009 12:28 PM EDT
You're old boy-friend?
See all 11 Comments

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