The Raleigh jihad group refers to seven men arrested on July 27, 2009, near

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

on charges of participating in a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

to commit "violent

jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

". An eighth man in the

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...

, believed to be in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, was not arrested. Daniel Boyd was the suspected ringleader, who along with Hysen Sherifi were also indicted on conspiring to attack troops at the US Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia.

History

The men were accused of plotting to wage "violent

" outside the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The alleged leader of the group,

Daniel Patrick Boyd Daniel Patrick Boyd (born 1970, also known as Saifullah) is an American who in July 2009 was convicted for his participation in a jihadist terrorist cell in North Carolina. Early life Boyd graduated from T. C. Williams High School in Alexand ...

, was accused of recruiting seven men, including two of his sons, to take part in a

"to advance violent jihad, including supporting and participating in terrorist activities abroad and committing acts of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

maiming Mutilation or maiming (from the ) is severe damage to the body that has a subsequent harmful effect on an individual's quality of life. In the modern era, the term has an overwhelmingly negative connotation, referring to alterations that rend ...

persons abroad." According to the indictment, members of the group practiced military tactics and the use of weapons in rural North Carolina, and traveled to

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

hoping "to engage in violent jihad."

Defendants

All defendants faced one count each of

conspiring A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

to provide resources to

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

and conspiring to murder, kidnap and injure persons abroad. *

, 39, a U.S.-born citizen. Alleged leader of the group, accused of recruiting the seven men. Lives in Willow Spring with his wife, three sons, daughter, and

daughter-in-law In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity is the kinship relationship created or that exists between two people as a result of someone's marriage. It is the relationship each party in the marriage has to the family of the other party in th ...

. Also accused of selling a gun to a felon. Boyd was released in December 2024. *Dylan (a.k.a. Mohammad) Boyd, 22, Daniel Boyd's eldest son. Lives in Willow Spring with his wife and parents. Also accused of selling a gun to a felon. Boyd has a scheduled release date of July 15, 2016. *Zakariya Boyd, 20, Daniel Boyd's second eldest son. Lives with parents in Willow Spring. Traveled with his father to

in 2007, but was denied entry. Boyd has a scheduled release date of May 30, 2017. *Anes Subasic, 33, a Bosnian

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

and a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

American citizen. Resides in

Holly Springs, North Carolina Holly Springs is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 41,239, a 67% increase from 2010. History Etymology The town's name refers to the free-flowing springs that merge into a str ...

with his father. Attended a

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

training camp in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Subasic has a scheduled release date of October 8, 2035. *Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22, a U.S.-born citizen. Traveled with Ziyad Yaghi to Israel in April 2007, but was denied entry at

Ben Gurion International Airport Ben Gurion International Airport , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on outskirts north of the city of Lod and directly south of the city of Or Yehuda, it is the busies ...

. Hassan has a scheduled release date of August 21, 2022. * Ziyad "Jimmy" Yaghi, 21, a

American citizen. Traveled to

in 2006. Traveled with Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan to

in April 2007, but was denied entry at

. He has a scheduled release date of February 26, 2037. *Hysen Sherifi, 24, the only non U.S. citizen, a native of

, and a U.S. legal permanent resident. An

ethnic Albanian The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

born in

Gnjilane Gjilan ( sq-definite, Gjilani) or Gnjilane ( sr-Cyrl, Гњилане) is the third most populous city in Kosovo and it serves as both a municipality and the administrative center of the Gjilan District. According to the 2024 census, the municip ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. Flew to Kosovo on 30 July 2008 where he stayed seven months. Sherifi has a scheduled release date of October 19, 2048. * Jude Kenan Mohammad, 20, a U.S.-born citizen. Traveled to Pakistan in October 2008, where he was arrested by Pakistani officials and accused of trying to travel illegally in a tribal area along the Pakistan-Afghan border. Killed in a drone strike in Pakistan in November 2011. At their detention hearings, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Webb ruled that all were to be held without

bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Fidelity bond, a type of insurance policy for employers * Chemical bond, t ...

until trial.

References

{{reflist Islamic terrorism in the United States Terrorist incidents in the United States in 2009 Prisoners and detainees of North Carolina Failed terrorist attempts in the United States 2009 in North Carolina Terrorist incidents in North Carolina