| Zachary Adam Chesser | |
|---|---|
Mug shot of Chesser |
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| Born | December 22, 1989 Charlottesville, Virginia, United States |
| Alias(es) | Abu Talhah al-Amrikee |
| Motive | Terrorism |
| Conviction(s) | Providing material support to Al-Shabaab, a terrorist organization |
| Penalty | Imprisonment of 25 years |
| Status | Incarcerated at United States Penitentiary, Marion[1] |
| Occupation | Unemployed (student) |
| Children | 1 son |
Zachary Adam Chesser (also known as Abu Talhah al-Amrikee; born December 22, 1989) is an American man who pled guilty to aiding a terrorist organization.[2][3] In April 2010, under the online username Abu Talhah al-Amrikee, Chesser posted a "warning" to the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, suggesting that they would be killed for depicting Muhammad in their 200th episode.[4] In July 2010, he was arrested on charges of aiding Al-Shabaab, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. On February 24, 2011, he was sentenced in federal court to 25 years in prison.
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Chesser participated in the Gifted and Talented program at Kilmer Middle School in northern Virginia[5] and later attended Oakton High School, graduating in 2008. He was known as an athlete, participating in the Oakton's football, basketball and crew teams. His yearbook profile stated “As the only Caucasian member of the break-dancing club, senior Chesser was not intimidated by being the only non-Asian.”[3]
He married in 2009 and has a son.[3]
Chesser told FBI agents he became interested in Islam in July 2008.[3] By 2010, he had created a YouTube account called LearnTeachFightDie and a website called the mujhidblog.com.[3] He had e-mail correspondence with Anwar al-Awlaki, a well-known radical Muslim cleric and inciter of homegrown terrorism. He used online media to disseminate his views, catching the attention of Jarret Brachman of ForeignPolicy.com who engaged Chesser in email correspondence.[6]
In April 2010, he made a controversial post to Revolution Muslim's website, which included a warning to South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone that they risk violent retribution for their depictions of Muhammad.[4] The post included the business addresses of likely targets of retribution, including Comedy Central and Parker and Stone's production company.[7]
Chesser threatened the South Park creators on a variety of other online platforms, including his blog and Twitter page. In one post, he likened the fate of the South Park creators to that of Theo van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker who was murdered in 2004 by a Muslim extremist and had a note pinned to his chest with a knife after airing his film that depicted women’s roles in Muslim societies. Chesser wrote, “We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh if they do air this show.”[8]
On July 10, 2010, Chesser was arrested after attempting to board a flight to Uganda with his infant son.[3] He admitted that he intended to continue from there to Somalia, the home of Al-Shabaab.[3] An affidavit filed in federal court alleges that he intended to join Al-Shabab as a “foreign fighter.”[9]
On October 20, 2010, Chesser pled guilty to three felonies: communicating threats to Parker and Stone, soliciting violent jihadists to desensitize law enforcement, and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.[2] Desensitizing law enforcement means to place suspicious-looking but innocent packages in public places until police became slack at removing them, at which point a real explosive could be used.[2] These three charges carried a maximum of 30 years in prison, Chesser was sentenced to imprisonment of 25 years.[10] Chesser is currently incarcerated at United States Penitentiary, Marion.[1]