José Padilla Criminal
José Padilla (born October 18, 1970), also known as Abdullah al-Muhajir (/ɑːbˈdʌlə ælmuːˈhɑːdʒɪər/ ahb-DUL-ə-al-moo-HAH-jeer) or Muhajir Abdullah, is a United States citizen from Brooklyn, New York, who was convicted in federal court of aiding terrorists.Padilla was arrested in Chicago on May 8, 2002, on suspicion of plotting a radiological bomb ("dirty bomb") attack. He was detained as a material witness until June 9, 2002, when President George W. Bush designated him an enemy combatant and, arguing that he was not entitled to trial in civilian courts, had him transferred to a military prison. Padilla was held for three and a half years as an "enemy combatant." He alleged that he was subjected to what were called enhanced interrogation techniques. After pressure from civil liberties groups, the charge was dropped, and his case was moved to a civilian court.On January 3, 2006, Padilla was transferred to a Miami, Florida, jail to face criminal conspiracy charges. On August 16, 2007, a federal jury found him guilty of conspiring to kill people in an overseas jihad, and to fund and support overseas terrorism. Government officials had earlier claimed Padilla was suspected of planning to build and explode a "dirty bomb" in the United States, a plot they had foiled, but he was never charged with this crime.On January 22, 2008, Padilla was sentenced by Judge Marcia G. Cooke of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida to 17 years and four months in prison. His mother, Estela Ortega Lebron, was relieved. She announced that they would appeal the sentence: "You have to understand that the government was asking for 30 years to life sentence in prison. We have a chance to appeal, and in the appeal we're gonna do better."On September 9, 2014, Padilla was handed a new prison sentence of 21 years.
