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Colleen LaRose, who is also known by the pseudonyms of Fatima LaRose and JihadJane - Source: Reuters -
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A Pennsylvania woman who called herself "Jihad Jane" pleaded not
guilty to charges of providing material support to terrorists and
conspiring to kill in a foreign country.
Colleen LaRose appeared in federal court in Philadelphia accused of
plotting with others over the Internet to kill a Swedish cartoonist
who depicted the Prophet Mohammed in a way that was offensive to
Muslims, and of wanting to become a martyr to Islam.
LaRose, 46, from Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, has been in custody since
October.
A grand jury indictment against her, unsealed on March 9, says
she recruited men online to wage violent jihad or holy war, in
South Asia and Europe.
Diminutive LaRose appeared in court shackled at the ankles and
wearing in green prison overalls, with her blond hair in
braids.
She replied "not guilty" when asked to plead after being read
the charges by a court official, but otherwise made no comment
during the brief proceeding.
Magistrate Judge Lynne Sitarski set LaRose's trial to begin on May
3.
LaRose will remain in custody until then.
Outside the court, LaRose's court-appointed lawyer, Mark Wilson,
declined to speak to reporters about his client.
LaRose - who used online pseudonyms such as Jihad Jane and Fatima
LaRose - told co-conspirators her appearance as a blonde-haired
white woman would allow her to blend in with many people and avoid
being detected as an Islamic terrorist, the indictment says.
LaRose, who has a history of broken marriages and petty crime,
travelled last August to Europe, where she planned to live and
train with jihadists and find and kill the Swedish cartoonist Lars
Vilks, according to the indictment.
Among e-mails sent to unidentified co-conspirators was one in which
she said she considered it an honor and great pleasure to die or
kill for one of them, the indictment says.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that LaRose has confessed to the
FBI, according to unidentified sources.
Her travels to Europe included a visit to co-conspirators in
Ireland, the newspaper said.
Irish police on Monday charged two men in a plot to murder
Vilks.
She faces life in prison if convicted on all charges.
