American who fought against Syria's Assad arrested in Virginia

[Sunni Man]

A former Army soldier from Phoenix who joined rebels fighting the Syrian government and boasted to FoxNews.com of his exploits as a Muslim soldier of fortune earlier this month was arrested Wednesday in Virginia and could face life in prison.

Eric Harroun, 30, who left the Army in 2003 on full disability pay after a truck accident, was charged with conspiring to use a rocket-propelled grenade while fighting with the al-Nusrah Front, an organization also known as Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Harroun, who was in Syria or Turkey when he spoke to FoxNews.com by Skype, was nabbed shortly after flying in to Dulles International Airport after a voluntary interview with FBI agents, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

Harroun told FoxNews.com in an exclusive report March 11 that he considers himself a Muslim freedom fighter fighting the regime of Bashar Assad, which the U.S. also opposes. But breaking the law cited by prosecutors who charged him carries a possible life sentence.

“Any national of the United States who, without lawful authority, uses, or threatens, attempts, or conspires to use, a weapon of mass destruction outside of the United States shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, and if death results, shall be punished by death, or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life,” reads the law.

According to court documents, FBI agents conducted three interviews with Harroun this month after he voluntarily came to the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul. Harroun allegedly told the FBI that he wound up with the Al Qaeda affiliate after his rebel group was attacked, and was treated like a prisoner before being accepted. He told agents he shot at least 10 people in Syria, but said he didn’t know how many, if any, were killed, according to prosecutors.

Harroun was last interviewed in Istanbul on March 25, and two days later flew back to the U.S. where he was arrested at Dulles International Airport after telling the FBI he had used an RPG to take down a tower on “at least one occasion.”

Harroun appeared in federal court Thursday in Alexandria, Va., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa Buchanan.

Harroun at the time shrugged off a question about fighting alongside Al Qaeda terrorists who have joined the Syrian rebellion, saying, "the U.S. plays both sides, too."

Harroun, known among Syrian rebels and loyalists alike as “The American,” has moved from one country to another, joining protesters in the takedown of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak before fighting alongside rebels attempting to depose Syria’s Bashar al-Assad. A prolific poster of online diatribes against the infidel, he's joined the threads of those calling for the deaths of Zionists.

In the months before his arrest, Harroun appeared in several online videos alongside Syrian rebels fighting in Damascus and claimed to have personally killed several Shabiha (supporters of the Assad regime), Syrian soldiers and an Iranian.

“I hate bad guys like Bashar [Assad]," Harroun told FoxNews.com. "I hate Iran, too. I am a freedom fighter."

American who fought with Al Qaeda against Syria's Assad arrested in Virginia | Fox News

 

[Sunni Man]

All throughout American history.

Civilian citizens have had the freedom to travel to foreign countries and take up armes against tyrants and dictators.

Such as joining the Lafayette Escadrille in the war against Germany during WWl

Or the Flying Tigers AVG who fought with Nationalist China against the Japanese.

And notables like Ernest Hemingway who went to Spain and fought against the fascists.

Now this freedom has been stripped as evidenced by this man's arrest for using weapons to fight in Syria.

And what makes no sense is that he was fighting against Assad; the same crazed ruler the U.S. wants driven from power. ......

 

[waltky]

Granny says hang him from a yardarm by his yin-yang...

Ex-US soldier who 'fought in Syria' could face execution
8 April 2013 : A former US soldier who allegedly fought Syrian government forces with a group linked to al-Qaeda could face the death penalty, prosecutors have said.

They told a court that Eric Harroun, 30, could face execution if his actions are found to have caused a death. During interviews with the FBI, Mr Harroun allegedly said he had shot 10 people in Syria, but was not sure if he had killed anyone. He was denied bail at Monday's hearing in Alexandria, Virginia. Mr Harroun, who has been charged with using a weapon outside the US, allegedly fought in Syria with the al-Nusra Front. The group wanted Mr Harroun, who served in the army from 2000-03, to act as their spokesman, but he declined to accept the role, prosecutors added.

Defence lawyers said the al-Nusra Front shares the US government's opinion that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad must go. "It is extremely unusual for the US to charge a person who is fighting in a manner that is aligned with US interests," said public defender Geremy Kamens. According to a criminal complaint, Mr Harroun is accused of crossing into Syria in January 2013 and fighting alongside members of Jabhat al-Nusra (the Nusra Front) against Mr Assad's forces. He allegedly fought as part of a group using rocket-propelled grenades, but is not charged with providing material support to a terror group.

Mr Harroun was medically discharged from the Army in 2003 after a car accident and lived in Phoenix, Arizona. He never served overseas, according to an Army spokesman. In March, the FBI spoke to the former soldier in three voluntary interviews at the US consulate in Istanbul. Officials say he told them he wanted to fight with the Free Syrian Army against the Assad regime and allegedly confirmed he had been fighting with al-Nusra.

BBC News - Ex-US soldier who 'fought in Syria' could face execution

See also:

Suspect in Syria case removed from 'no fly' list, now jailed in U.S.
April 8th, 2013 - U.S. authorities had a former soldier they were investigating removed from a "no-fly" list and allowed him to travel from Turkey to the United States where he was promptly arrested on charges related to fighting alongside a terror group in Syria.

That unusual step, revealed on Monday by a federal prosecutor in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, allowed authorities to get Eric Harroun back in the United States without having to ask Turkish authorities to arrest him. Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, was not in FBI custody during the flight, but agents were aboard and observed him, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter Burwell. He did not say when Harroun had been placed on the "no-fly" list or whether he was aware of it. The FBI interviewed Harroun three times in March in Istanbul about his alleged activities in Syria.

An FBI affidavit said Harroun crossed into the war-torn country in January and fought forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He posted photos and videos of himself on the Internet handling rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons, it said. The United States never asked Turkish authorities to arrest him. Harroun flew to Washington's Dulles airport in Virginia on March 27 and agreed to another interview. Agents arrested him then on the charge of conspiring to use a rocket-propelled grenade while fighting with the al-Nusrah Front, a branch of al Qaeda in Iraq. The United States broadly supports the rebel effort in Syria. But officials have said militants have infiltrated opposition groups.

Al-Nursa is said to be one of the best-armed and efficient fighting groups among the Syrian opposition, but has been designated by the United States as a terrorist organization. Harroun's lawyer, Geremy Kamens, said his client was charged with fighting the Syrian regime - opposed by the United States. Additionally, he pointed out an FBI agent who testified at Monday's hearing said there was no evidence Harroun was involved in any terror activities. U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan Davis ruled Monday the government had enough evidence to allow the case to proceed, and ordered Harroun to remain in jail pending trial. Davis rejected any form of bail and said he found Harroun's admissions during his FBI interviews to be convincing. "There is no stronger case than the defendant's own confession," said Davis.

The judge also said Harroun had bragged about his actions in Syria on social media. Harroun said nothing in court. He has not been asked to enter a plea and has not been formally indicted yet. According to a March 28 affidavit, Harroun entered Syria and later told the FBI his intention was to fight with the Free Syrian Army, the main rebel group. Harroun allegedly told the FBI he participated in a joint attack with the rebel force and the al-Nusra Front and jumped in the back of an al-Nusra truck and was taken to one of its camps. Harroun allegedly told the FBI the al-Nusra fighters initially treated him like a prisoner and took his weapons, but later he was accepted and assigned to an team equipped with rocket propelled grenades. The affidavit said he posted photos and videos on the Internet showing himself handling weapons including RPGs.

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