Colleen LaRose

Colleen LaRose
Born
Colleen Renée LaRose

(1963-06-05) June 5, 1963 (age 61)[3]
Michigan, United States
Other namesJihad Jane, Fatima LaRose
Criminal statusPleaded guilty to all charges on February 1, 2011
Parent(s)Richard LaRose[4]
Cecil Wilkinson (stepfather)
MotiveJihad
Conviction(s)terrorism-related charges
Criminal charge1) conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists;
2) conspiracy to kill a person in a foreign country;
3) making false statements to the FBI; and
4) attempted identity theft (unsealed March 9, 2010)[1][2]
Penalty10 years

Colleen Renée LaRose (born June 5, 1963),[5] also known as Jihad Jane and Fatima LaRose, is an American citizen who was convicted and sentenced to 10 years for terrorism-related crimes, including conspiracy to commit murder and providing material support to terrorists.[3][6][7]

She had married at age 16 and never finished high school. After a quick divorce, she later married again at age 24, and divorced after a decade. She had moved from Texas in 2004 to live in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. After personal losses and attempting suicide in 2005, she converted to Islam.

She was prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.[2][8]

LaRose was taken into custody in October 2009, and her arrest was made public on March 9, 2010, after seven alleged co-conspirators were arrested in Ireland (five of whom were later released by the Irish authorities).[2] Among those arrested in Ireland (later released by the Irish authorities, but then arrested by U.S. authorities and charged as a co-defendant with LaRose in a superseding indictment) was Jamie Paulin Ramirez, an American woman from Colorado, whose parents say she was recruited by LaRose.[3][7][9] Specifically, LaRose was charged with trying to recruit Islamic terrorists to wage violent Jihad and of plotting to murder the Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had drawn a cartoon of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.[3][2][7][10][11]

She was arraigned and initially pleaded not guilty on March 18, 2010.[12] She faced a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a $1-million fine.[12] On February 1, 2011, she pleaded guilty to all charges against her.[13] She was convicted on January 6, 2014, and sentenced to 10 years.[6] She was released from prison on November 2, 2018.[14]

  1. ^ Hinkelman, Michael (March 10, 2010). "Feds: Montco woman led Net death plot". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "Indictment, U.S. v. LaRose" (PDF). U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. March 4, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2010. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ a b c d "'Jihad Jane' recruited for Europe, SAsia attacks: charges". AFP. March 9, 2010. Archived from the original on March 14, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  4. ^ John Shiffman (December 7, 2012). "Jane's Jihad" (PDF).
  5. ^ "'Jihad Jane' and 7 others held in plot to kill Swedish cartoonist". The Christian Science Monitor. March 10, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  6. ^ a b Shiffman, John (January 6, 2013). "U.S. woman known as Jihad Jane sentenced to 10 years in plot". Reuters. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c Indictment, justice.gov Archived August 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Nunally, Derrick; Shea, Brady; King, Larry (March 11, 2010). "'Jihad Jane's' life like a 'country music song'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  9. ^ "'Jihad Jane' Indicted on Terror Charges in Pennsylvania". Anti-Defamation League. March 10, 2010. Archived from the original on March 14, 2010.
  10. ^ Emily Friedman & Jason Ryan (March 9, 2010). "American Colleen LaRose Called Herself Jihad Jane". ABC News.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference san was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Urbina, Ian (March 18, 2010). "Woman Known as Jihad Jane Pleads Not Guilty". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  13. ^ Candiotti, Susan; Levitt, Ross (February 1, 2011). "Woman called 'Jihad Jane' pleads guilty". CNN. Archived from the original on February 3, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  14. ^ BOP.gov Inmate Locator