Ujaama Pleads Guilty to Terror Camp Charges
James Ujaama, the Seattle Muslim convert who collaborated with hook-handed UK hate preacher Abu Hamza to establish Islamic terror training camps in Oregon, recently violated his plea agreement by traveling to Belize on a fake Mexican passport—allowing the government to bring more serious charges against him: Man pleads guilty to terror camp charges.
James Ujaama, a Muslim convert from Seattle, said he tried to set up the camp in Bly, Ore., in 1999 and notified a radical Islamic cleric in Britain that he and others were stockpiling weapons and ammunition in the United States.
He also admitted that between June 2000 and Dec. 19, 2001, he tried to raise money and provide other help to terrorists in Afghanistan.
Ujaama’s lawyer, Peter Offenbecher, declined to comment.
The plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and providing material support or resources to terrorists exposed Ujaama, 41, to a potential prison sentence of up to 30 years. U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan set sentencing for Dec. 12.
Ujaama was once a prized government cooperator. He pleaded guilty in April 2003 in Seattle to lesser charges of conspiring to provide cash, computers and fighters to the Taliban. He served two years in prison and agreed to cooperate with terrorism investigations until 2013.
Federal officials have called Ujaama’s help crucial in the 2004 indictment of Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri on charges of trying to establish the training camp and providing aid to al-Qaida.