Dennis RomeroA Garden Grove man who was headed to Mexico was arrested this morning for “attempting to provide material support to al-Qaida,” the FBI in Los Angeles said.
Twenty-four-year-old Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, a.k.a. Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, was collared at a Santa Ana bus station as he was attempting to head south with a falsified passport, federal authorities allege. Just what was he supposed to have been doing for the terrorist organization?
The FBI is not saying, and the two-count indictment sent to us is short on detail.
It alleged that Nguyen, a U.S. citizen, had a passport obtained with false statements, including a fake name and, more shockingly, that he “committed this offense to facilitate an act of international terrorism,” according to the indictment.
It alleges his actions appeared “to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping” outside the United States.
Credit: A former al-Qaida training camp by Kenny Holston / Flickr.
According to Laura Eimiller of the FBI in L.A:
Investigators do not believe Nguyen was traveling with others, nor are they aware of a continuing threat to the public at this time, based on his alleged activities.
He was arrested at 7:30 a.m., “prior” to boarding a Mexico-bound bus, feds said.
Eimiller said an investigation into the matter by the Joint Terrorism Task Force was ongoing (perhaps explaining why details were sparse).
Nguyen was due in federal court in Santa Ana at 2 p.m.
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