Tonight, we are getting our first look at hundreds of pieces of evidence in the trial of two men convicted of conspiring to kill American military overseas as part of an Al-Qa'ida-sponsored plot. The evidence was released by a federal judge Tuesday in Riverside at the request of FOX 11 News and other media.
The evidence shows how the men - 36-year-old Sohiel Kabir, 36, a naturalized U.S. citizen who lived in Pomona and 25-year-old Ralph Deleon of the Philippines who lived in Ontario - were radicalized after making contact with Al-Qa'ida. The evidence includes video of the men conducting training at firearms and paintball facilities in Southern California in preparation for terrorist training overseas with the Taliban in Afghanistan. According to the evidence, in the spring of 2012, Deleon revealed to an FBI informant his plan to travel overseas to engage in "violent jihad," which would include attacking American military personnel and bases.
Kabir and Deleon were arrested in November 2012 along with two other men. Those arrests were closely watched by Enrique Marquez and Sayeed Farook. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Marquez - arrested on conspiracy charges after the San Bernardino terrorist attack in December that left 14 people dead -- admitted making plans in 2012 with Farook to commit mass murder at Riverside Community College using pipe bombs. The high-profile arrest of the four men apparently led to them backing out of the Riverside plot.
Ralph DeLeon and Sohiel Kabir were convicted in 2014 of conspiring to kill American troops overseas. Their co-conspirators, Miguel Santana Vidriales and Arifeen Gojali, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges. They are all serving between 10 and 25 years in federal prison.
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