From behind bars, Kevin James created a radical Islamic organization, recruited his cell mate and others on the outside to join his group and then, together, they planned a terrorist attack on U.S. military and Jewish targets in California – but their plan was thwarted only months before the attacks were to take place.

This is not a plot for a TV thriller; this is the subject of a multi-count indictment filed against four men in California at the end of August.

The indictment and charges raise numerous questions about the monitoring of inmates behind bars, coordination between law enforcement on the outside and corrections officials on the inside, and the sharing of vital safety and security information.

“Hopefully this is a wake-up call. I think this is a problem that exists throughout the United States, particularly in regard to the authentic Muslim faith – [where] there is often a significant rehabilitative influence,” said Brian Levin, Professor of Criminal justice at California State University - San Bernardino. “If you asked someone 10 years ago who were those prisoners least likely to be involved in violent conduct, it would be the legitimate Muslim prisoner. Now you have a problem in some instances and have an extremist version that is getting promoted that might not be explicitly distinguishable [from the legitimate religious practice].”

According to the indictment and the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central California District, the conspiracy involved gas station robberies in several California communities that were intended to fund a terrorist organization that was run and created by James, an inmate at California State Prison in Sacramento. He allegedly founded the group, Jam'iyyat Ul-Islam-Saheeh (JIS) in 1997 while he was in custody.

The indictment, which was returned by a federal Grand Jury in California on August 31, states that James preached the duty of JIS members to “target for violent attack any enemies of Islam or ‘infidels' including the United States Government and Jewish and non-Jewish supporters of Israel.”  The indictment names James, and three other individuals, Levar Washington, Gregory Patterson and Hammad Samana, who are charged with multiple crimes including conspiracy to commit war against the government through terrorism.

According to the indictment, James actively recruited fellow prison inmates to his organization by distributing a “protocol” that set forth his teachings about Islam, including the justification for killing the targets. He also sought to create “cells” outside of prison and recruited fellow inmate Lever Washington to accomplish this after his parole in November 2004. He tasked him with recruiting five individuals, acquiring firearms with silencers, training them, and appointing a recruit to find contacts for explosives (or learn how to make bombs) that could be activated from a distance, according to the indictment.

The following months included James' approval of two recruits (Patterson and Samana), research by the group into Jewish events in the Los Angeles area (including some scheduled for October 2005), multiple gas station robberies and the purchase of weapons.

“In California they allegedly wanted to get people involved who had no criminal record as well. The idea is that someone would buy the weaponry that had no criminal record,” said Levin, who researches and writes about terrorist elements in U.S. prisons.

According to Thom Mrozak, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in L.A., the criminal investigation into these activities began after the arrest of Washington and Patterson who robbed a gas station in July of this year

Following their arrest, local police in Torrance, California executed a search warrant of an apartment and found evidence that caused federal authorities to become involved.

“Torrance police discovered some items to lead them to believe there was an active [terrorist] cell,” said Mrozak.

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, of which the Torrance Police Department is a member, led the investigation. Other federal, state and local agencies were also involved, including the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, L.A. Police and many others. Mrozak said the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was also involved in the investigation, but it is not a part of the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Now experts say that corrections must have a seat at any table that is discussing terrorism in order to uncover and thwart home-grown terrorist activities behind bars, such as this one in California.

Changing Corrections Investigations

Terrorism experts, such as Levin, say that the way in which intelligence is gathered inside prison has to change to keep up with the new forms of extremism that are being created both within and outside correctional facilities.

“The biggest question related to this case is, Why did it take the Torrance Police Department to break it? We need to rethink the manner in which we monitor religious extremists --  of all stripes -- in prison,” said Levin.

Levin, who researches these groups at his Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State, said that prison officials need to think different about monitoring and investigating the activities of religious extremist groups and how to do so under the constraints that exist for corrections.

“Prison officials are in a tough spot. On the one hand, they are legally required to respect the religious practices of inmates [and], on the other, in the post 9/11 world, we do not have the luxury of having terrorist plots ferment under the shield of a religious freedom,” he said.

Levin said investigations around religious extremist groups differ from traditional gang investigations in that the members of extreme religious groups are more loyal and these groups – Al-Qaeda included – are transnational ideological movements.

“These extremists are interested in fomenting radicals all over the world, anywhere they can, to hit at their enemies, and prisoners are a part of the matrix,” he said.

Levin said recent terrorism cases of Jose Padilla and Richard Reid (known as the Shoe Bomber) illustrate the connections that these groups have with those who are disenfranchised and have criminal backgrounds.

“They have to monitor this stuff better. The fact of the matter is the information collection has to take place to prevent something terrible from happening. The deck isn't totally stacked against prison officials. [Corrections officials] can extricate people from one location to another without putting [them] in a supermax and there's a relatively low expectation of privacy in prison [anyway],” Levin said.

Brian Parry, retired Assistant Director in charge of the Law Enforcement and Investigations Unit for California's corrections department, said there are many reasons – this recent case included – why investigations of extreme religious groups should change. In particular, corrections officials need to be clear about when they have uncovered a real threat.

“We have groups that talk like terrorists, but are really just being gangs. When you bring in the religious aspect, you have to be careful and cautious with the monitoring, so that it doesn't interfere with religious expression,” he said.

Parry said the traditional approach to monitoring prison gangs won't necessarily work in these cases.

“We monitor their communications, mail and telephone, but we aren't monitoring their religious services [that way]. It's not that we don't have staff there, but there comes a point when we have to train staff members to look for certain things,” Parry said. “The key is to prevent radical groups from subverting religious services. They need to be trained because it might not be a group, it could be an articulate person. “

One of the complications for corrections investigators is there are hundreds of gangs and security threat groups on “the radar screen,” but those potential threats may not be elevated to a higher level of monitoring until another piece of intelligence comes in – and helps staff put the puzzle together.

“The problem in corrections is we have a lot of different groups that have the potential to become disruptive. It's a matter of budget and resources,” he said.

Parry said that by instituting greater information-sharing between corrections and public safety officials on the outside, obtaining more information on religious volunteers and improving screening processes, corrections officials may have a better handle on terrorist threats.

He added that shortly after 9/11 the California corrections department began working with the FBI to identify any prisoners who contacted individuals on the government's “watch list.” But because of technology compatibility problems, that relationship did not fully develop.

“Since the bombings in London and resurfacing of the Padilla case and Richard Reid, and now this group at Folsom [in California], there has been a stepped-up effort to work together and share information,” he said. “You'll find corrections [now] has a seat at the table. We are the least used resource out there.”

A change in philosophy is imperative, according to Parry.

“If one little group like this can do it, there's the potential for other groups out there. Corrections, in general, has to put the resources on the problem,” he said.

DCR Prepares for New Approach to Threats

Despite the recent indictments, California Department Corrections and Rehabilitation has already begun to put in place a new structure for how terrorist and other threats within the prison system are monitored.

The head of the department's new Office of Correctional Safety, Walt Allen, said that the indictments and uncovering of the JIS radical group inside the system has helped the restructuring plans move forward.

“Although this was a real serious issue, Secretary Hickman [of the California Youth and Adult Correctional Agency] and I both agree that this is a blessing in disguise for us and the FBI. It jumpstarts what we are focusing on and is moving us forward a lot quicker,” said Allen.

Allen explained that part of the entire department's restructuring this year has included a vision for creating a new system for gathering intelligence, reviewing it and disseminating it.

“We will have a direct connection with the law enforcement community,” said Allen. “One of the things I was excited about was to get involved in the intelligence community.”

According to Allen, corrections officials will begin meeting with the Joint Terrorism Task Force on a regular and permanent basis. In addition, corrections investigators and staff will receive training on radical religious groups so that they can better monitor the activities of individuals behind bars.

“There's a balancing act that must be maintained and that is something we are addressing. The BOP has similar issues they have had to deal with. There are a number of things we are doing, without violating rights, to keep in tune with what's going on,” he said.

That is exactly the approach that Levin suggests corrections officials take.

Levin said corrections staff need to familiarize themselves with the tools, symbols and ideologies of radical religious groups and once they do, they will become experts.

“It's important that prison officials do what others are doing. It's relatively unfamiliar to them and they are a little less likely to be aware. If anything, this case has to be a wake up call for prison officials to reevaluate their procedures,” he said.

Included in that training, Levin said, should be information about the particular forms of terrorism that exist. They can be ideologically motivated by religion, politics, or both; psychologically dangerous – a sociopath or someone with a cognitive impairment -- or can act for personal benefit or for revenge.

“Knowing this, you can see the cross-pollination,” said Levin.

Allen agrees that training is critical to the department's ability to monitor and investigate radical religious groups.

“It is a critical component not only for supervisors but more importantly for the line folks. We know those who are going to deal with homeland security on the outside are the officers. Inside the institutions we can train all our people by providing adequate training to all our personnel. It will help us make a dent in radicalization,” Allen said.

To do this, Allen said, the department will look to the FBI, Homeland Security and the federal Bureau of Prisons for guidance and information.

“You reach out to those who have been down this road and have expertise and experience we may not have,” he said.

He added that with more than 1,000 “disruptive” groups to watch for in the California prison system, correctional staff need all the specific information they can get their hands on.

“We need to add this component to their toolbox,” Allen said.

Levin believes that many of the information sharing and intelligence problems that exist between agencies can be resolved by changing just what the California corrections department has changed.

“Most of the problem can be solved by exposing the fact that the problem exists,” he said. 

Resources:

For more information on the indictment, contact the U.S. Attorney's office in L.A. at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/cac/divisions/criminal.html

For information about the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State – San Bernardino got to http://hatemonitor.csusb.edu/