WASHINGTON -- U.S. prosecutors accused two men in Chicago of
plotting with a Pakistani terror group to carry out an attack on
a Danish newspaper that in 2005 printed controversial cartoons
of the Prophet Mohammed.
Criminal complaints filed by federal prosecutors against David
Coleman Headley, a 49-year-old U.S. citizen, and Tahawwur
Hussain Rana, 48, a Pakistani native with Canadian citizenship,
alleged that the men plotted with members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba
terror group in Pakistan to carry out unspecified attacks on the
offices of Jyllands-Posten in Denmark.
Mr. Headley was arrested Oct. 3 as he prepared to board a flight
on a planned trip to Pakistan, and Mr. Rana was arrested Oct. 18
at his Chicago home, according to the complaints. The complaints
against the men, made public Tuesday, were sealed by a federal
judge after the arrests while investigators continued their
probe. Each faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of
charges of providing material support to terrorism.
"The public should be reassured that there was no imminent
danger in the Chicago area. However, law enforcement has the
duty to be vigilant to guard against not just those who would
carry out attacks here on our soil but those who plot on our
soil to help carry out violent attacks overseas," said Patrick
Fitzgerald, U.S. attorney in Chicago.
According to the criminal complaints, Mr. Headley allegedly
identified and conducted surveillance of potential targets on
two separate trips to Denmark in January and July 2009, and
reported and attempted to report on his efforts to others
involved in the plot in Pakistan. Mr. Rana's helped arrange Mr.
Headley's travels overseas and discussed potential attack
targets with Mr. Headley, according to the allegations in the
complaint.
The published cartoons depicting Mohammed prompted protests by
Muslims who said they were offensive.
In October 2008, Mr. Headley allegedly posted a message on an
Internet discussion group saying of the published Danish
cartoons: "I feel disposed towards violence for the offending
parties" for "making fun of Islam."