Prosecutors outline case against Phoenix man in Texas attack

Source: AP

By RYAN VAN VELZER and JACQUES BILLEAUD

PHOENIX (AP) — Prosecutors say a man charged with orchestrating a shootout at an anti-Islam event in Texas wanted to join Islamic State and attack the Super Bowl.

The revelation at a court hearing for Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem shows that the Phoenix-based plot extended beyond last month's shootout at a Prophet Muhammad cartoon event in Texas that led to the deaths of two roommates.

Prosecutors portrayed Abdul Kareem as motivated to join the burgeoning Islamic State movement as the terrorist group rampaged through the Middle East and gained a large following on social media. They obtained their information from a confidential informant.

Prosecutor Kristen Brook called Abdul Kareem "off the charts dangerous." Defense lawyer Daniel Maynard calls it a trumped-up case based largely on an unreliable snitch.



This undated law enforcement booking photo from the Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff's Department shows Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem. Kareem, 43, also known as Decarus Thomas, has been charged with helping plan an attack on a provocative Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas that ended with two men being killed in a shootout with police. An indictment filed in federal court in Phoenix alleges that Kareem hosted the gunmen in his home beginning in January and provided the guns they used in the May 3 shooting in Garland, Texas.(Maricopa County Sheriff's Department via AP)



Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ab0fc0ea5eb2400a82b356ee010396f3/indictment-man-helped-plan-texas-cartoon-contest-shooting