Federal jurors in New Mexico Tuesday convicted five of diverse charges including terror and kidnapping charges and conspiracy to kill federal employees.
Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, his sisters Hujrah and Subhanah, and Subhanah’s husband, Lucas Morton, were convicted of supporting and conspiring to support terrorists, as well as conspiracy to murder a U.S. officer or employee, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Friday in a press release. The latter three were also convicted of fatal kidnapping and conspiring to commit the same. Jany Leveille, the fifth defendant, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to support terrorists and possessing a firearm while living illegally in the U.S.
Siraj kidnapped his three-year-old son from his wife in Alabama to New Mexico with his co-defendants, persuaded by Leveille that the child was hers and was demon-possessed, the statement noted. The child died less than two weeks after arriving in New Mexico, deprived of medication and motherly care, and subjected to exorcisms. The group, whom Leveille persuaded that the child would resurrect as Jesus Christ to judge U.S. government institutions, then established a fortified base and firing range, stocked up on firearms and ammunition, and trained themselves to “face the nation,” wage jihad, kill unbelievers, and become martyrs. (RELATED: New Mexico Terror Compound Suspects Indicted On Firearm And Conspiracy Charges)
Officers arrested an armed Siraj without any incident during a raid and found the deceased boy’s remains in an underground tunnel, per the statement.
The boy, who was severely disabled, was named Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Eleven hungry children were also reportedly found at the desert compound on the outskirts of Amalia near the Colorado state line. Leveille, a Haitian, was Siraj’s partner and group leader.
It all was a “sick end-of-times scheme” with “a number of unique beliefs that set [the defendants] on a dangerous path,” prosecutors argued, the AP noted. Siraj however reportedly argued that the government “portrayed me to look like a monster.”
Leveille faces 17 years in prison following her plea agreement, while the rest each face a maximum life sentence, the DOJ said.