Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen sentenced to 13 years for trying to aid al Qaeda
| LOS ANGELES
A man who used Facebook and other Internet communications to connect with al-Qaida and planned to train its fighters in Pakistan was聽sentenced聽Monday to 13 years in federal prison followed by 10 years of supervised release.
Sinh聽Vinh聽Ngo聽Nguyen, 25,, pleaded guilty in December to one count of attempting to assist a known terrorist organization.
"I simply do not understand how we can rehabilitate his commitment to die for his beliefs," U.S. District Court Judge John F. Walter commented while discussing what potential threat聽Nguyen聽might pose after his release.
Nguyen聽shook his head no when the judge asked if he would like to make any remarks.聽Nguyen聽sat through the proceedings with his hands shackled at the waist, twiddling his thumbs.
In a lengthy argument, defense counsel Yasmin Cader said that while in custody聽Nguyen聽was diagnosed with a personality disorder "on the spectrum of schizophrenia" and now that it's being treated "all of this magical thinking has stopped."
The public defender also said there was very little expertise聽Nguyen聽could offer to a terrorist organization.
"He is not a skilled tactician," she said.
Between August and October 2013,聽Nguyen聽met several times with a man he thought was an al-Qaida recruiter but who was actually working for the FBI, according to court documents.聽Nguyen聽told the phony recruiter he was born to wage jihad and he agreed to travel to Pakistan via Mexico in order to train 30 al-Qaida fighters.
Nguyen聽was arrested at a Santa Ana bus terminal in October while waiting for a bus bound for Mexico. At the time of his arrest,Nguyen聽had a passport with a false name, along with a hard drive containing 180 weapons training videos, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
Nguyen's聽admission was outlined in a plea agreement filed in federal court.
Nguyen, who also went by the name Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, said he had traveled to Syria and for five months fought with rebel forces opposing the regime of Bashar al-Assad. While in Syria,聽Nguyen聽offered his services to al-Qaida but was turned down, according to federal prosecutors.
