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José Padilla (also known as Abdullah al-Muhajir) (born 1971) has been declared a terrorist suspect by the United States government.
Born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, he became a gang member after moving to Chicago, Illinois, and was arrested several times. During his gang years, he maintained several aliases, such as José Rivera, José Alicea, José Hernandez and José Ortiz. After serving his last jail sentence, he converted to Islam. He went to the Masjid Al-Iman mosque in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with Adham Amin Hassoun, who at that time was the Florida registered agent for Benevolence International Foundation, a charity which United States Investigators have accused of funding terrorist activities. Padilla and Hassoun became friends. U.S. authorities accuse Hassoun of consorting with radical Islamic Fundamentalists, possibly including Al-Qaida. Hassoun was arrested in 2002 for overstaying his visa. [1] (http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/06/15/padilla.associate/)
Padilla later traveled to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. On his return, he was arrested by federal agents at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on May 8, 2002. Subsequently he was declared an enemy combatant and accused of participating in the construction of a radioactive dirty bomb. No evidence was presented, no legal proceedings authorized, and he was not allowed to talk to his lawyer. He is being held in a naval brig at Hanahan, South Carolina. (see Executive Order (http:http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/padilla/padillabush60902det.pdf))
On December 18, 2003, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals declared that the Bush Administration lacked the authority to designate a U.S. citizen arrested on U.S. soil an enemy combatant without clear congressional authorization (per 18 U.S.C. § 4001(a)); it consequently ordered the government to release him from military custody within thirty days. However, the court has stayed the order pending appeal. On February 20, 2004, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the government's appeal. The Supreme Court heard the case in April 2004, but on June 28, 2004, it was thrown out on a technicality, thus elevating the court from deciding the merits, at least temporarily. They said that New York State, where the case was originally filed was an improper venue and that the case should have been filled in South Carolina, where Padilla is currently being held. His lawyer says he intends to refile the case in the proper venue.
Padilla and John Doe 2
A number of web and media outlets have pointed to the uncanny resemblance between Padilla and police sketches of an Oklahoma City Bombing suspect known as "John Doe Two." There have long been allegations of a connection between Al Qaeda and the bombing, although the theory has been dismissed by law enforcement authorities.
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