Ulugbek Kodirov, an Uzbekistan national arrested last July and charged with threatening the life of President Barak Obama was charged yesterday with providing material aid to terrorism. Kodirov will go before U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon today to plead guilty to acquiring weapons and explosives to be used to kill president Obama as well as providing material support to terrorism.
Back in August, 2011, Kodirov, 22, an illegal immigrant living in Pelham, Alabama, pleaded not guilty to threatening the life of President Barack Obama and possession of weapons, including an automatic machine gun and grenades. He was in the United States on an F-1 student visa until he failed to enroll in school and the visa was revoked in April 2010. He was indicted by a federal grand jury.
According to court records, Kodirov was charged with four counts of threatening the president on July 9, July 10, July 11, and July 13. According to the affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Alabama, Kodirov was also charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and unlawfully possessing a fully automatic weapon. The weapon referred to having a Sendra Corporation Model M-15-A1 rifle which he brought from an undercover agent law enforcement agent before his arrest on July 13.
The affidavit notes that “Kodirov made contact with an informant for the federal authorities looking for weapons. He met with the government informant at a motel to make the purchase.”(www.fbi.gov8/26/2011)
According to FBI reports, Kodirov was also indicted on charges of receiving and possessing an unregistered grenade on July 13th. He had four grenades, but the gunpowder was not in them, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
According to court records and the FBI report of July 26, 2011, the federal authorities under a federal search warrant, searched Kodirov’s room at the Oak Mountain Lodge in Pelham, Alabama on July 13. The authorities were specifically looking for Jihadist manuals and training materials, nipper rifles and other long range weaponry, documentation related to assassination and the names and identifiers of possible co-conspirators. The search warrant did not list what may have been found during the search. (www.fbi.gov, 7/26/11)
Supporting material for the warrant based on a affidavit given by a Secret Service agent state, “Kodirov had contacted an FBI confidential reliable source on July 9 and July 10 and made an inquiry regarding possible ways to kill President Obama, including shooting the President from a long distance and asked the confidential source to assist him.” The search warrant further noted that “Kodirov said he did not care if he lost his own life killing the President.” (www.fbi.gov. 7/26/11)
A second confidential source, according to FBI reports, was told by Kodirov, “that on or about July 11 Kodirov said he wished to kill Obama. The second source noted that “Kodirov was a strict Muslim, who has previously expressed support for Islamic extremists and that Kodirov viewed Jihadist websites.”
The significant and fundamental change regarding the indictment involves the issue of Kodirov being charged with terrorism and his decision to plead guilty to the charges.
At the time of the indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s office stated, “There is no terrorism charged in this indictment.” Furthermore, following the indictment hearing, the defense lawyer for Kodirov, Lance Bell, said “he was waiting for the federal government to declassify evidence in the case so he can review it.” Bell underscored that “government agents are the ones who provided Kodirov with the automatic weapon and grenades before Kodirov’s arrest. It’s (the weapons) not something he brought to the table.”(www.aseerun.org/8/13/2011)
Ulugbek Kodirov will plead guilty today to the charges of threatening the life of President Barak Obama and providing material aid to terrorism. His defense attorney, Lance Bell, declined further comment. U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon will explain the legal process for entering the guilty plea to Kodirov this afternoon. If Kodirov is found guilty he can be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison for each threat made against the life of President Obama and ten years for each weapon he held illegally.
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