California worker convicted of providing terror support

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal jury on Tuesday convicted a 23-year-old man of supporting terrorists by attending an al-Qaida training camp in Pakistan three years ago.

Hamid Hayat, a seasonal farmworker in Lodi, an agricultural town south of Sacramento, was convicted of one count of providing material support to terrorists and three counts of lying to the FBI.

His attorney said she would seek a new trial. "Hamid Hayat never attended a terrorist training camp. This fight is not over," Wazhma Mojaddidi said.

The verdicts came hours after a separate jury hearing a case against the man's father deadlocked, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial.

The father, 48-year-old ice-cream truck driver Umer Hayat, is charged with two counts of lying to the FBI about his son's involvement in the training camp. Defense attorneys and prosecutors will meet in court May 5 to decide whether he will be retried.

Both men are U.S. citizens and stood trial in federal court before separate juries. They have been in custody since June.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales praised the verdicts, saying in a statement that Hamid Hayat "supported and trained with our terrorist enemies in pursuit of his goal of violent jihad."

Defense attorneys tried to persuade jurors that they should acquit the two because the government had provided no clear evidence that the son had attended a camp. But prosecutors characterized their case as pre-emptive.

"This case is important because it shows that we can prevent further acts of terrorism by winning convictions against those who would plot deadly acts against our citizens before they can act," U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said at a news conference.

The investigation into potential terrorist activities in Lodi is continuing, Scott said. He would not rule out further charges.

The case initially generated wide interest because it raised concerns about a potential terrorist cell in the wine-producing region about 35 miles south of the state capital. But the government presented no evidence of such a network.

Instead, the case centered on videotaped confessions the men gave to FBI agents and a government informant who secretly recorded conversations but whose credibility was challenged by the defense.

Prosecutors described Hamid Hayat as having "a jihadi heart and a jihadi mind," and who returned from a two-year visit to Pakistan intent on carrying out attacks. Possible targets included hospitals, banks and groceries, but prosecutors presented no evidence in the nine-week trial that such attacks were imminent or planned.

Hamid Hayat faces a minimum of 30 years in prison, prosecutors said. His sentencing is scheduled for July 14.