The first treason charge in the U.S. in 54 years has been initiated for Adam Gadahn, the American Al Qaeda traitor.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2006 — Adam Gadahn, a former resident of Orange County, Calif., turned propagandist for al Qaeda has been indicted by a federal grand jury for treason and for providing material support to al Qaeda.
Since 2004, Gadahn has appeared in a series of videos in which he praises the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers and claimed, “The streets of America shall run red with blood.” The first video of Gadahn was initially aired by ABC News in October 2004. “Adam Gadahn is an American citizen who made a choice. He chose to join our enemy and to provide it with aid and comfort by acting as a propagandist for al Qaeda,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said in announcing the indictment.
Gadahn, who has also called himself Azzam the American in Internet videos, is the first person to face treason charges in the United States since a l U.S.-Japanese citizen was charged in 1952 for abusing U.S. prisoners of war during World War II.
Someone should clue in Dean Esmay that this is the face of a traitor—not someone who calls Muslim jihadists fascists.
Treason is the act of betraying your nation. “Traitor” isn’t a word to be bandied about because you’re mad at the way someone writes about Muslims. Well, unless you like misusing words. As a famous (fictional) Spaniard once said: I do not think that word means what you think it means.