A federal judge yesterday convicted three members of an alleged "Virginia jihad network," a major victory for prosecutors who had portrayed the men as Islamic militants preparing for foreign jihad, or holy war, by playing paintball and firing weapons in the Virginia countryside.
U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema found the three men guilty of conspiring to aid a Muslim group fighting India that the government has deemed a terrorist organization. With her decision, handed down in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, nine of the 11 Muslim men initially charged with taking part in paramilitary training have admitted guilt or been convicted. One was previously acquitted and another faces trial next week.