A jury today convicted five Muslim immigrants of plotting to massacre U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix.
Four of the defendants were also convicted of weapons charges, and all five were acquitted of attempted murder charges.
Mohamad Shnewer (age 23), Serdar Tatar (age 25), Dritan Duka (age 30), Eljvir Duka (age 25), and Shain Duka (age 27) are expected to be sentenced April 22nd and 23rd for conspiring to kill U.S. military personnel.
They could face life in prison.
After twelve weeks of trial in a New Jersey courtroom, jurors took less than six days to reach their decision.
The men were arrested in May 2007 in Cherry Hill, NJ while two of them attempted to purchase four automatic M-16 rifles and 3 semi-automatic AK-47 rifles to be used in a future attack.
The men were not accused of having ties to specific terrorist organizations, but prosecutors presented dozens of video clips featuring jihadist speeches they say the men used as inspiration.
The government relied heavily on hundreds of secretly recorded conversations gathered by informants who befriended the suspects.
"These men planned, trained and ceaselessly talked unambiguously about their intention to ambush and kill U.S. soldiers." said Acting United States Attorney Ralph J. Marra Jr. in a statement this afternoon. "The word should go out to any other would-be terrorists of the homegrown variety that the United States will find you, infiltrate your group, prosecute you and send you to a federal prison for a very long time".
Click here to see the Department of Justice Press Release.