Pa. woman pleads guilty in terrorist plot

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA

A Pennsylvania woman who called herself “Jihad Jane” online pleaded guilty Tuesday to her role in a plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist who had offended Muslims.

Colleen LaRose, 47, helped foreign terror suspects intent on starting a holy war in Europe and South Asia, prosecutors said.

LaRose, who also was accused of using the online name “Fatima LaRose,” has been in custody since October 2009 and faces a possible life sentence under the four charges to which she pleaded guilty.

Speaking clearly but quietly, LaRose said Tuesday she had never been treated for any mental-health problems and was entering her plea freely. She whispered a few comments to her lawyers, some of them prompting a smile from public defender Mark T. Wilson.

LaRose and co-defendant Jamie Paulin-Ramirez of Leadville, Colo., are the rare U.S. women charged with terrorism. Paulin-Ramirez pleaded not guilty after being arrested in Ireland with other terror suspects.

A March 2010 indictment charged LaRose with conspiring with jihadist fighters and pledging to commit murder in the name of a Muslim holy war, or jihad.

LaRose pleaded guilty Tuesday to four counts: conspiracy to support terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, lying to investigators and attempted identity theft.