An Ohio man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Columbus with providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to provide support to terrorists and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Christopher Paul, 43, was arrested by FBI agents outside of his Columbus apartment on April 11, 2007, after a four-year investigation, which spanned eight different countries on three continents, according to the FBI. Paul pleaded not guilty to the charges two days after his arrest.
“The indictment of Christopher Paul paints a disturbing picture of an American who traveled overseas to train as a violent jihadist, joined the ranks of Al Qaeda and provided military instruction and support to radical cohorts both here and abroad,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein said in a statement.
Paul allegedly plotted to target resorts in Europe and U.S. military bases overseas between April 1999 and January 2000, according to the three count indictment. During that time, Paul traveled to Germany to train co-conspirators to use explosives and sent a wire transfer of $1760 from the U.S. to an alleged co-conspirator in Germany, prosecutors allege.
Paul’s alleged ties to Al Qaeda date back to the early 1990s when he traveled to a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan and later joined Al Qaeda in Pakistan, according to the indictment. Paul is also accused of conducting training at Burr Oak State Park in Glouster, Ohio, in 1998 with several co-conspirators, the indictment states.
According to court records, Paul is linked to Nuradin Abdi, a Somali man arrested in 2003 for a plot to blow up a Columbus-area shopping mall. Abdi, who is awaiting trial, listed Paul as a personal reference on a government employment application. Items seized from Paul’s North Side apartment, including a laser range finder and a night vision scope, will be used as evidence against Abdi.
Paul’s former roommate, Iyman Faris, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for providing material support and resources to Al Qaeda in 2003. Faris admitted that he had plotted to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge and a train in Washington, D.C. In March 2003, Faris told government agents that he, Paul and Abdi discussed blowing up a Columbus-area shopping mall.
In addition to the laser range finder and night vision scope, authorities found a fax machine that contained names, phone numbers and contact information for key Al Qaeda leadership and associates during a search of Paul’s residence. Paul allegedly also stored, among other things, a book on improvised land mines at his fathers’ home.
Paul, a Muslim convert, taught martial arts at a Columbus mosque. He faces life in prison if convicted of all charges.
