Colleen LaRose

Colleen Renee LaRose (born June 5, 1963),[5] also

known as Jihad Jane and Fatima LaRose, is an American citizen who was convicted and sentenced to 10
years for terrorism-related crimes, including conspiracy
to commit murder and providing material support to terrorists.[1][6][7]

She moved to the Philadelphia area in 2004 to live with

her new boyfriend, Kurt Gorman, whom she had met in
Ennis, Texas, when he was on a business trip. She helped
him care for his aging father.[3][11][20][21][21][22]
Spurred by the deaths in short order of her brother and
father, LaRose apparently attempted suicide on May 21,
2005, by consuming 8 to 10 cyclobenzaprine pills along
with alcohol.[8] Her sister Pam in Texas had been worried about her and called 911 to alert police. LaRose
told responding police that she did not want to die.[23]
She lived with Gorman for about ve years. During
that period, she apparently converted to Islam and became radicalized,[3][8][21][22] but Gorman said that she
never talked about international events, about Muslims,
anything.[24]

She had married at age 16 and never nished high school.

After a quick divorce, she later married again at age 24,
and divorced after a decade. She had moved from Texas
in 2004 to live in Pennsburg, near Reading, Pennsylvania.
After personal losses and attempting suicide in 2005, she
converted to Islam. She was prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.[3][8]
LaRose was taken into custody in October 2009, and her
arrest was made public on March 9, 2010, after seven
alleged co-conspirators were arrested in Ireland (ve of
whom were later released by the Irish authorities).[3]
Among those arrested in Ireland (later released by the
Irish authorities, but then arrested by U.S. authorities and
charged as a co-defendant with LaRose in a superseding indictment) was Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, an American woman from Colorado, whose parents say she was
recruited by LaRose.[1][7][9] Specically, LaRose was
charged with trying to recruit Islamic terrorists to wage
violent Jihad and of plotting to murder the Swedish artist
Lars Vilks, who had drawn a cartoon of the Islamic
prophet, Muhammad.[1][3][7][10][11]

1.1 Conversion to Islam

Her interest in Islam was sparked by a Muslim man she
met in a bar in Amsterdam. After returning to Pennsylvania she began reading Muslim websites and signed up
at a Muslim dating site. She learned the basics of Islam
from a mentor in Turkey and converted via instant messenger. I was nally where I belonged, she recalled.
She took the Muslim name Fatima.[4] She became xated with YouTube videos of attacks on Muslims by Israel and America.[4] She posted copies of what appear to
be attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq.[25] Her Myspace prole featured messages such as "Palestine We Are With
You and Sympathize With Gaza".[21][26] In her prole,
she said she is a recent convert to Islam.[21] Her Myspace
prole also reportedly included a post that read: I support all the Mujahideen [Muslim warriors] I hate zionist
& all that support them!"[9]

She was arraigned and initially pleaded not guilty on

March 18, 2010.[12] She faced a maximum penalty of
life in prison, and a $1-million ne.[12] On February 1,
2011, she pleaded guilty to all charges against her.[13] She
was convicted on January 6, 2014, and sentenced to 10
years.[6]

On June 20, 2008, she posted a comment to the YouTube

account JihadJane (account has since been suspended),
saying that she was desperate to do something someLaRose was born in Michigan and grew up in Detroit. She how to help suering Muslims, according to authorihas one sister, Pam, who is three years older.[14] Their ties. She sent emails expressing her desire to become a
parents divorced when Colleen was 3. She was raped by martyr.[3][4][26]
her biological father from about age 7 to age 13, when she One of her co-conspirators allegedly identied Lars Vilks
ran away and became a prostitute.[4][15]
as a target; the Swedish artist who had outraged some

Background

She was briey married at the age of 16 to Sheldon Barnum, who was 32 at the time. A miscarriage left her unable to have children.[14] Eventually, she moved to Texas.
She later married Rodolfo Rudy Cavazos in 1988, when
she was 24 years old; the marriage ended in divorce ten
years later in 1998.[16][17][18][19]

Muslims by drawing a cartoon of Muhammad. LaRose

was directed, on March 22, 2009, to go to Sweden, to nd
and kill Vilks to frighten the whole Kufar [non-believer]
world.[3] According to her indictment, she responded in
writing: I will make this my goal till I achieve it or die
trying.[3]
1

REFERENCES

On July 1, LaRose allegedly posted an online solicitation for funds to support terrorism.[3] The FBI contacted
her and interviewed her on July 17, 2009, and she denied
soliciting funds for terrorism, or using the online screen
name of JihadJane. Fearing the FBI might know more
she immediately booked a ight to Europe.[4]

during the interim she remained in federal custody. If

convicted, she faced a maximum penalty of life in prison,
and a $1-million ne. On February 1, 2011, LaRose
changed her plea to all charges.[32] She is conned to her
cell often for 23 hours a day but has managed to become
engaged to a fellow prisoner who promises to convert to
On August 23, 2009, LaRose stole Gormans passport Islam upon release. They met through talking on the
waand ew to Western Europe. Prosecutors say the pur- bowls, prison slang for scooping out toilet cell bowl [33]
ter, calling and listening through the plumbing pipes.
pose of the trip was to live and train with jihadists, and
to nd and kill Vilks.[3] She joined an online community hosted by Vilks on September 8. On September 30, 2.1 Arrests in Ireland
she allegedly told an online co-conspirator that it would
be an honor & great pleasure to die or kill for him, and The same day as the unsealing of LaRoses indictment,
promising that only death will stop me here that I am four men and three women in their 20s and 40s were
so close to the target!"[2] To a close friend she confessed, arrested in Waterford and Cork, Ireland, with regard
When our brothers defend our faith [and] their homes, to an alleged plot to assassinate Vilks.[2][31] Irish police
they are terrorist. Fine, then I am a terrorist and proud of said most of those arrested were foreign residents of the
this.[4]
country.[34]
During her time in Europe, she reportedly traveled in
London, the Netherlands, and, for approximately two
weeks, in Ireland.[27][28] In Europe she would nally meet
Muslims in person; extremists who were devout and committed to the cause. They taught her to pray and she was
fully accepted as a Muslim.[4] She began to become disillusioned with the lack of organization; family illness back
in America led her to pause and return home.[4]

Arrest, indictment, and arraignment

LaRose was arrested on October 16, 2009, in Philadelphia. In a court appearance before a federal magistrate on
October 17, she agreed to pretrial detention, but did not
enter a plea.[2][22] She was kept in custody in Philadelphia
without bail until her indictment was unsealed, to protect
another investigation.[29]
LaRoses indictment charged that along with ve unindicted co-conspirators (in South Asia, Eastern Europe,
Western Europe, and the U.S.), she used the Internet to communicate with potential jihadists outside
the U.S., conspired to commit murder, and nanced
terrorism.[1][2][3][7][26]
Among those involved in the plot was Mohammad Hassan Khalid, a fteen-year-old Pakistani immigrant living
with Asperger syndrome; Khalid became the youngest
person ever to be prosecuted for terrorism oences in
the US.[30] LaRose was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a
foreign country, making false statements to the FBI, and
attempted identity theft.[1][3][7] Swedish authorities said
they were aware of the arrest before it happened.[31]
LaRose was arraigned on March 18, 2010, and pleaded
not guilty to all four counts.[12] United States magistrate
judge Lynne Sitarski set her trial date for May 3, 2010;

They reportedly included three Algerians (two of them

a married couple), a Croatian (a Muslim convert), a
Palestinian, a Libyan, and a U.S. nationalJamie PaulinRamirez.[28] Five of the people were released in early
March 2010, while Ali Charaf Damache, a 10-year Algerian resident of Ireland, and the Libyan, Abdul Salam
al-Jahani, were ordered held without bail.[35]
LaRose spoke online about her plans with at least one
of the suspects apprehended in Ireland, according to a
U.S. ocial.[22] Her main contact in Ireland was believed
to be Damache, who lived in Waterford with PaulinRamirez.[36] Garda believe LaRose may have visited Ireland to contact the suspects in 2009.[37]
LaRose was the only American woman in recent years
to have been charged in the U.S. with similar terrorist violations.[38] Some terrorism experts pointed to
LaRoses apparent mental instability, arguing she was an
anomaly and not representative of a trend towards women
jihadists.[39]

3 See also
Homegrown terrorism
Samantha Lewthwaite
Jos Padilla

4 References
[1] "'Jihad Jane' recruited for Europe, SAsia attacks:
charges. Google. AFP. March 9, 2010. Retrieved April
3, 2010.
[2] Hinkelman, Michael (March 10, 2010). Feds: Montco
woman led Net death plot. Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved March 10, 2010.

[3] Indictment, U.S. v. LaRose (PDF). U.S. District Court

for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. March 4, 2010.
Retrieved March 10, 2010. This article incorporates text
from this source, which is in the public domain.

[22] Dale, Mary Claire (March 10, 2010). "'Jihad Jane' indictment shows terrors evolution. Durriyet Daily News.
Associate Press. Retrieved July 11, 2015.

Janes Jihad

[23] Susan Candiotti; Carol Cratty; Jeanne Meserve (March

10, 2010). Police say suspect in terror plot attempted
suicide in 2005. CNN. Retrieved March 11, 2010.

[5] "'Jihad Jane' and 7 others held in plot to kill Swedish cartoonist. The Christian Science Monitor. March 10, 2010.
Retrieved April 3, 2010.

[24] Leonard, Tom (March 10, 2010). Blond haired Jihad

Jane plotted terror attacks. The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Retrieved March 18, 2010.

[6] John Shiman (January 6, 2013). U.S. woman known as

Jihad Jane sentenced to 10 years in plot. Reuters.

[25] O'Connell, Vanessa (March 10, 2010). "'Jihad Jane' Had

Troubled Past. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March
18, 2010.

[4] John Shiman (December 7, 2012).

(PDF).

[7] Indictment, justice.gov Archived August 30, 2010, at the

Wayback Machine.
[8] Nunally, Derrick; Shea, Brady; King, Larry (March 11,
2010). "'Jihad Janes' life like a 'country music song'".
The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
[9] "'Jihad Jane' Indicted on Terror Charges in Pennsylvania.
Anti-Defamation League. March 10, 2010.
[10] Emily Friedman and Jason Ryan (March 9, 2010).
American Colleen LaRose Called Herself Jihad Jane.
ABC News.
[11] Woman with San Angelo ties arrested in terrorist plot;
Accused is said to have wanted to help suering Muslims.
San Angelo Standard Times. March 9, 2010. Archived
from the original on March 13, 2010. Retrieved July 11,
2015.

[26] Savage, Charles (March 9, 2010). Pennsylvania Woman

Tied to Plot on Cartoonist. The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
[27] Jihad Jane was in Ireland for a fact-nding trip. The
Belfast Telegraph. March 11, 2010. Retrieved March 18,
2010.
[28] O'Connell, Vanessa; Simon, Stephanie; Evan Perez
(March 13, 2010). For the Love of Islam. The Wall
Street Journal. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
[29] Jihad Jane, American who lived on Main Street. CNN.
March 10, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
[30] Ed Pilkington (April 17, 2014). Mohammad Hassan
Khalid given ve years in jail for his part in jihadist plot.
The Guardian. Retrieved July 21, 2014.

[12] Urbina, Ian (March 18, 2010). Woman Known as Jihad

Jane Pleads Not Guilty. The New York Times. Retrieved
March 18, 2010.

[31] Muslims detained in Ireland due to cartoonist aair (in

Arabic). alJazeera Net. March 10, 2010. Retrieved
March 11, 2010.

[13] Candiotti, Susan; Levitt, Ross (February 1, 2011).

Woman called 'Jihad Jane' pleads guilty. CNN.

[32] Jihad Jane pleads guilty to planning cartoonist murder.

The Guardian. February 2, 2011.

[14] Shiman, John. "'Jihad Jane' begins strange journey from

abuse victim to wannabe terrorist. NBC Investigations.
Reuters. Retrieved January 6, 2014.

[33] John Shiman (December 10, 2013). Janes Jihad: confessions, jail and unwavering faith. Reuters. Retrieved
February 14, 2015.

[15] http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/06/
us-usa-jihadjane-idUSBREA050PC20140106

[34] Pogatchnik, Shawn (March 10, 2010). Irish arrest 7 over

threat to kill Swedish artist. Seattle Times. Associate
Press. Retrieved July 11, 2015.

[16] Terror suspect left a faint trail in San Angelo. StandardTimes. Gosanangelo.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
[17] "'Jihad Jane': Ex-Husband Speaks Out About Terror Suspect. ABC News. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
[18] Carrie Johnson and Alice Crites (March 16, 2010).
"'Jihad Jane' suspect dropped out before high school, married at 16. The Washington Post.

[35] Quinn, Eamon; Burns, John F. (March 15, 2010). In

Ireland, a Hearing on a Plot to Kill a Swedish Cartoonist.
The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
[36] Brady, Tom (March 12, 2010). Gardai link terror swoop
detainees to 'Jihad Jane'". The Irish Independent. Retrieved March 18, 2010.

[19] Terror Suspect 'Jihad Jane' Pleads Not Guilty. NBC

Philadelphia. Retrieved March 18, 2010.

[37] Cooper, Patrick (March 10, 2010). "'Jihad Jane' may have
visited Ireland to enlist for al-Qaida plot. Irish Central.
Irishcentral.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.

[20] MacDonald, Sally. "'Jihad Jane' Has Texas Ties. March

10, 2010. Myfoxhouston.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015.

[38] Williams, Pete (March 9, 2010). Pa. woman accused of

recruiting jihadists. MSNBC. Associated Press.

[21] Drogin, Bob; Portnoy, Jenna (March 11, 2010).

JihadJane? To most she was just Colleen. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2010.

[39] Leonard, Tom (March 10, 2010). Blond-haired 'Jihad

Jane' plotted terror attacks. The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Retrieved March 11, 2010.

External links
'Women and Terror' interview with Dr.
Bloom

Mia

EXTERNAL LINKS

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