American accused of assisting men in Isis attack at anti-Islam event in Texas

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/11/isis-texas-attack-draw-muhammad-contest-abdul-kareem?CMP=share_btn_fb

Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem faces a terrorism charge over providing guns and support to two Isis followers in an attack on a draw Muhammad contest

Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem is believed to be the first person to stand trial on charges related to Isis. Photograph: Brandon Wade/AP Associated Press in Phoenix

Friday 11 March 2016 22.00 GMT Last modified on Friday 11 March 2016 22.07 GMT

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Federal prosecutors on Friday asked a jury to convict a Phoenix moving-company owner of a terrorism charge, saying he provided the guns, ammunition and motivation to two Islamic State followers in an attack on an anti-Islam event last year in Texas.

Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem is charged with providing support to Isis for what prosecutors describe as a crucial behind-the-scenes role in a plot by two friends to shoot up a prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in the Dallas area. They were killed in a police shootout outside the event.

Kareem, 44, is believed to be the first person to stand trial on charges related to Isis. A trial in New York that started halfway through Kareem’s trial concluded on Wednesday with a guilty verdict against a US military veteran charged with attempting to join the terrorist group.

Arizona man goes on trial for aiding allegedly Isis-inspired shooting in Texas

Prosecutor Joseph Koehler told jurors in his closing argument that witness testimony shows Kareem knew that Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi were Isis members and planning an attack at the cartoon contest and an Arizona military base.

Kareem taught Simpson and Soofi how to operate and maintain rifles and provided the guns and ammunition they brought to the cartoon contest, he said.

“He was a motivator. He was a bankroller,” Koehler said. “He was a trainer and an intended participant.”

Koehler noted that the two men printed out an Isis flag and brought it to the cartoon contest.
“They want to announce to the world that we are here on behalf of Isis,” he said.

Kareem’s lawyer, Daniel Maynard, said authorities wrongfully targeted his client because his two friends were killed as they tried to carry out a mass shooting.

In his closing arguments, Maynard said federal authorities arrested his client to save face for having been warned beforehand about one of the two gunmen who was later killed outside the 3 May contest. 

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