ATLANTA (AP) — A 23-year-old man charged with aiding overseas terror groups says at his trial that his online chatter about joining a jihad was “empty talk.”
Ehsanul Islam Sadequee (EH’-suh-nool sah-DEE’-kee) made a sometimes rambling, 14-minute opening statement Tuesday at his federal trial in Atlanta. He decided this week to represent himself.
Home-grown terrorist--or just an "empty talker?"
Prosecutors say Sadequee conspired and took steps to help terrorists. They say he sent homemade videos of Washington landmarks to terrorists and journeyed to Bangladesh to continue his pursuit of “violent jihad.”
Sadequee says there was talk about doing a lot of things, but no one ever did anything. As he spoke, family members in the courtroom wept and whispered prayers.
He faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted.
B.S. Report–Sometimes you can say that it was all just “empty talk.” However, he did more than just talk. He traveled. He trained. And he made video tapes.
He traveled to Canada where he allegedly met with a terrorist. He trained with a paramilitary group in Georgia and he sent the video of the alleged targets to Younis Tsouli, a terrorist in the United Kingdom. This is not “empty talk” and it is definitely not innocent, benign activity.
