N.C. man, sons charged with gearing up for jihad

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Israel denied entry two years ago to members of a North Carolina family that includes three men accused of plotting to execute terror attacks in foreign countries, an official said Wednesday.

Daniel Boyd, 39, was arrested Monday with six others, including two sons. Authorities claim Boyd was the ringleader of a group that was gearing up for a “violent jihad,” though prosecutors haven’t detailed any specific targets or time frame. If convicted, the men could face life in prison. An eighth suspect is believed to be in Pakistan.

Boyd’s wife, Sabrina, told a Raleigh newspaper that he and one of their sons flew to Israel in 2007 to visit Muslim holy sites but were denied entry and detained for two days. That followed a trip Daniel Boyd made with another son, who is not charged, to Israel a year earlier. She denied any malevolent motive for their visits.

The U.S. indictment said Boyd and two sons — Zakariya, 20, and Dylan, 22 — traveled to Israel in July 2007 to meet with two of the other defendants but returned home “having failed in their attempt at violent jihad.”

An Israeli security official confirmed that members of the Boyd family were denied entry in 2007. He declined to say why they were stopped or provide further details. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not officially made public.

Israeli police and the Interior Ministry, the office in charge of immigration, would not comment.

Sabrina Boyd, 41, urged the public not to rush to judgment.

“We have the right to justice, and we believe that justice will prevail,” she said in a statement. “We are decent people who care about other human beings.”

On Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge William A. Webb delayed the detention hearing for the seven suspects. They are now scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning.

Prosecutors said Boyd received terrorist training years ago in Pakistan and brought the teachings back to North Carolina, recruiting followers willing to die as martyrs waging jihad — the Arabic word for holy war.

Boyd’s neighbors also defended the drywall contractor.

“If he’s a terrorist, he’s the nicest terrorist I ever met in my life. I don’t think he is,” said Charles Casale, 46, a neighbor in Willow Spring.

The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.