American Convicted on Terrorism Conspiracy Charge

A naturalized U.S. citizen was convicted of conspiracy to support terrorists four years after he and an alleged co-conspirator videotaped landmarks in Washington, D.C., and sent the footage to "Jihadi people" he met online.

Investigators say they later discovered that Syed Haris Ahmed shared the footage with two men who have since been convicted of terrorism-related crimes in British courts, the Washington Post reported.

Ahmed, who immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan with his family as a child, was an engineering student at Georgia Tech University when he shot the video along with Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, whose trial begins Aug. 3, CNN reports.

"The conviction in this case validates the FBI's approach that we do not need to wait, nor should we wait, for an individual to be caught with his hands on a bomb before we recognize and respond to the threat," said FBI Atlanta special agent in charge Gregory Jones.

But Ahmed's lawyer doesn't see the case as so cut-and-dry. "The question is whether he was ever a serious conspirator or just a young, immature man seeking his identity and sometimes engaging in boastful talk," Martin said in a telephone interview with the Washington Post.

Ahmed could face up to 15 years in prison, but Martin told the Post he would ask the judge to consider leniency and apply the three years Ahmed has served to whatever sentence he receives.

Prior ABAJournal.com coverage:

Internet a Meeting Ground for Would-Be Militants and Accused Terrorists

UK Extradites U.S. Citizen on Terror Charges