Adam Yahiye Gadahn, an American Muslim convert who joined Al Qaeda in the late 1990s, has been featured in several videos produced by the terrorist group's media wing, Al Sahab, since 2004. His video appearances, which are mostly in English and geared toward Western audiences, demonstrate his anti-Semitic and anti-Christian views and are marked by threats against America and its allies.

In a video featuring Gadahn (a.k.a. “Azzam the American”) released on June 13, 2009, and titled “Let's Continue our Jihad and Sacrifice,” Gadahn urged Muslims to attack Jewish and American interests, informing them that “Zio-Crusader interests everywhere are legitimate targets for us.” He also encouraged Muslims to “continue to back your Jihad with funds and men,” and notified his followers, “know that your brothers the Mujahideen are with you, not just with our hearts, no! But with our weapons, funds and Jihad against the Jews and their allies everywhere.”

Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda's second in command, has urged followers to listen to Gadahn. In a video titled “An invitation to Islam,” which was released in September 2006, Zawahiri referred to Gadahn as a brother who “wants to lead his people out of darkness and into the light.”

Gadahn, who converted to Islam at the age of 17, was reportedly radicalized by two members of his mosque in Orange County, California. In the late 1990s, Gadahn traveled to Pakistan and later Afghanistan, where he attended an Al Qaeda training camp and established relationships with Al Qaeda leaders. He is believed to be hiding in Pakistan today.

Gadahn was indicted by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana, California, in 2006, on charges of treason and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization “for making a series of propaganda videotapes for Al Qaeda,” according to Department of Justice. He is the first American in over fifty years to be charged with treason and is on the FBI's most wanted list.