A Southern California convert to Islam who has appeared in five incendiary Al Qaeda videos became the first American since the World War II era to be charged with treason, authorities announced Wednesday.
In a federal grand jury indictment unsealed Wednesday in Orange County, Adam Yahiye Gadahn, 28, also was charged with providing material support to the terrorist organization, which has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks, including the Sept. 11, 2001, assaults in New York and Washington, D.C.
"The crime of treason is perhaps the most serious offense for which any person can be tried under our Constitution," Deputy Atty. Gen. Paul J. McNulty said at a Washington news conference to announce the charges. "It is not a crime only against the American people but against America itself."
Gadahn, who is believed to be living in Pakistan, has emerged in recent months as the most significant American involved in radical Islam. Though originally seen as little more than an English translator for Al Qaeda, he began showing up on videotapes for the organization two years ago. His recent video appearances with Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, have cemented his reputation as a significant new propagandist for terrorism, U.S. counterterrorism officials say.
The nine-page indictment lists five separate instances, from Oct. 27, 2004, to Sept. 11 of this year, in which Gadahn allegedly gave "aid and comfort to Al Qaeda" by appearing in videos with the intent "to betray the United States."
In the first of those videos, the indictment says, Gadahn acknowledged that he had "joined a movement waging war on America and killing large numbers of Americans." Wrapped in a head scarf that covered everything but his eyes, Gadahn also declared that the Sept. 11 attacks on Washington and New York "notified America that it's going to have to pay for its crimes and pay dearly."
In the most recent videotape, the indictment adds, Gadahn referred to the U.S. as "enemy soil."
Treason, which can carry the death penalty, is the only crime delineated in the U.S. Constitution. Historically, it has been a difficult charge to make stick because the government must present at least two witnesses to the same act of treason, or a courtroom confession, to prove its case.
Largely because of those hurdles, legal experts say, there have been fewer than 40 prosecutions for treason in U.S. history and only a handful of convictions.
