JEFFREY BATTLE, PATRICE LUMUMBA
FORD SENTENCED TO 18 YEARS IN PRISON WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal judge in Portland, Oregon, today sentenced Jeffrey Battle and Patrice Lumumba Ford to 18 years in prison each for their guilty pleas to charges of seditious conspiracy. Battle and Ford, defendants in the "Portland Cell" terrorism case, were sentenced to the 18-year prison terms by the Honorable Judge Robert Jones of the U.S. District Court in Portland. On Oct. 16, 2003, Battle and Ford pleaded guilty to the first count of a 15-count indictment, a charge of conspiracy to levy war against the United States. Both defendants admitted in their plea that the purpose of the conspiracy was to travel to Afghanistan to fight alongside al Qaeda and the Taliban against American and allied forces. In their guilty pleas,
Battle and Ford admitted that following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
by al Qaeda, they met at various times in the Portland
area with others to plan for travel to fight in Afghanistan against the armed
forces of the United States. Ford also admitted that after the September
11th attacks, he purchased a shotgun and then conducted
weapons training on two occasions at a gravel pit in Washougal, Washington,
with other co-defendants. Battle and Ford admitted that they and several other
defendants flew to China in an unsuccessful attempt to gain entry into Pakistan,
en route to Afghanistan. |