Three men charged as part of a local jihad network have pleaded guilty to conspiracy and gun charges, with one admitting in federal court yesterday that he trained with firearms in Northern Virginia to prepare for a possible mission fighting for Muslims abroad. Yong Ki Kwon, 27, told a federal judge in Alexandria that he also trained in Pakistan at a camp run by the Lashkar-i-Taiba organization, which is fighting to end Indian control over much of Kashmir and has been designated a terrorist group by the U.S. government. At the camp, he said, he fired weapons ranging from machine guns to rocket-propelled grenades. Kwon said he and the other 10 men charged as part of the network, who are accused of possessing a variety of weapons and practicing military tactics while playing paintball in the Virginia countryside, had deliberately trained in secret. Asked why by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, Kwon replied: “We didn’t want any undue attention, and we didn’t want any trouble with the government.” Full Story
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