Man Indicted On Terrorism Charges In Murder Of College Student In West Orange
Ali Muhammad Brown Allegedly Said He Was On 'Bloody Crusade' To Punish U.S.
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — A Seattle man was indicted on terrorism and murder charges Thursday in a shooting that killed a college student in West Orange, New Jersey last year.
Ali Muhammad Brown, 30, was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of terrorism, one count of murder and other charges in the June 25, 2014 shooting that killed Brendan Tevlin, 19, of Livingston, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s office.
It was the first murder case in New Jersey in which a defendant was charged with terrorism under state law, prosecutors said. Brown had allegedly said he was motivated by a “bloody crusade” to punish the U.S. government for its foreign policies.
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In a probable cause affidavit filed in Seattle, King County sheriff’s Detective John Pavlovich said Brown described himself to detectives after his New Jersey arrest as a strict Muslim who had become angry with what he described as the U.S. government’s role in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan that he said had led to the death of innocent civilians and children.
In a subsequent July 25 recorded interview in New Jersey, Pavlovich wrote, Brown described his idea of a “just kill,” in which the target was an adult male unaccompanied by women, children or elderly people.
Brown had also been wanted in connection with armed robbery and carjacking that took place at a Point Pleasant coffee shop.
