5 Muslims “convicted” in New Jersey of plotting–ie supposedly planning not carrying out yet– to kill GIs (American militery personnels):
It may be impossible to know whether the five Muslim immigrants convicted Monday of conspiring to kill American military personnel would have attacked at Fort Dix or anywhere else if left unchecked.
Prosecutors say the time to act against terrorist plotters is before blood is shed. But the defense and some Muslim leaders say the men were goaded into tough talk by paid government informants and never would have followed their words with action.
The conspiracy conviction means the jury found that the defendants, who lived in and around Philadelphia for years, had an agreement to kill soldiers and had taken at least one step toward carrying it out. The government did not have to prove the men had a target or a timeline for an attack. The jury acquitted all five suspects on attempted murder charges — which would have required the panel to concluded that the men had taken “substantial” steps toward killing.
