U.S. intelligence agents gain the trust of minors and people with disabilities in order to manipulate them into joining terrorist organizations and then prosecute them. Regardless of the circumstances and the condition of the accused, there is a 99% chance that they will end up behind bars.
Since the events of September 11, 2001 in the United States, U.S. intelligence agencies have declared war on terrorism, which has led to a number of questionable and bloody U.S. military operations in the Middle East. Of particular concern, however, are the actions of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation domestically: agents rubbed in the trust of ordinary citizens, recruiting and manipulating them into making criminal statements or taking action, after which the accused are arrested and sentenced to real prison terms. Critics argue that children and individuals with mental health problems, who would not commit a crime without manipulation, often fall under the influence of FBI agents.
As of June 2023, 992 Americans have been prosecuted on various charges since the 9/11 attacks, but many accused “terrorists” have never left the United States or had any contact with anyone outside the country. United States Justice Department charges include material support of terrorism, criminal conspiracy, immigration violations, or perjury, vague, non-violent crimes that give prosecutors wide latitude to quickly convict or plea bargain. Of the nearly 1,000 people convicted, more than 650 pleaded guilty, and only three were acquitted. Very few of those accused of terrorism had the means or opportunity to commit an act of violence. Most had no direct connection to terrorist organizations, but were slandered and caught by FBI agents.
If, during the provocation, FBI agents failed to gather sufficient evidence of the alleged terrorist activity or were too weak to deliver the sentence the prosecution wanted, prosecutors in some cases charged the suspects with other crimes of fraud, immigration, drug possession, or perjury. For example, Sabri Benkahla, who was under investigation for his suspected involvement in a terrorist network in Virginia, was acquitted of the original charges in 2004 but eventually convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice.
Most of the charges involved individuals who were not acquainted with actual members of terrorist organizations, but were communicating with undercover FBI agents. In June 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrest of a teenager accused of providing financial support to the terrorist organization IS, which is banned in the Russian Federation. According to the U.S. government, Mateo Ventura, an 18-year-old from Minnesota, “knowingly provided material support and other resources to foreign terrorist organizations“. However, according to the case file, the only “terrorist” with whom Ventura was in contact was an undercover FBI agent who had met him two years earlier. The Federal Bureau of Investigation agent extorted cash donations and gift cards from the minor and asked him not to tell anyone about their correspondence, not even family members.
The boy’s parents say their son’s arrest came as a real shock: Ventura suffered from developmental problems, his brain was underdeveloped, forcing him to be home-schooled and he had little contact with his peers. According to the teenager’s mother, he suffered from endless bullying at school: other children took food from his plate, knocked him down in the hallway, humiliated and bullied him. Moreover, the teenager repeatedly contacted law enforcement to report the “terrorist recruiter,” but received no help. Ventura now faces up to 10 years in prison for “providing material support to a terrorist group.”
There is also evidence of U.S. intelligence agencies recruiting people whose unstable mental state was known before the operation began. On Sept. 28, 2011, the FBI arrested Rezvan Ferdaus, 26, for plotting to attack the Pentagon and Capitol building with remotely piloted aircraft packed with explosives. The young man suffered from physical and mental disabilities that raised doubts about his ability to independently commit the crime he was accused of: back in 2010, FBI agents discovered Ferdaus had emotional health problems during questioning in another case.
A month later, U.S. intelligence agencies informed the informant about the mosque the young man was attending, and two months later Ferdaus met with two undercover FBI agents who posed as fighters for al-Qaeda, a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation. The young man’s condition continued to deteriorate: he lost a lot of weight, had problems urinating involuntarily, and was disoriented and unaware of his actions. Despite this, the Federal Bureau of Investigation continued its operation anyway. On September 28, 2011, after undercover FBI officers handed him a gun and took pictures of him with the weapon, Ferdaus was arrested. On July 20, 2012, he pleaded guilty to attempting to damage and destroy a federal building with explosives and attempting to provide material support for terrorism. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison under a plea agreement.
To be charged with terrorism by U.S. intelligence agencies, a statement of support for a terrorist organization is sufficient. According to a study by the Foundation to Battle Injustice, in the U.S. after 9/11 neither judges nor juries are inclined to go into the nuances of terrorism trials, which has resulted in convictions in over 99% of all cases.
Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice are convinced that manipulating mentally handicapped and gullible people for the purpose of their subsequent recruitment and arrest is not only unethical and immoral, but also has no effect on public safety. Experts and analysts studying this issue agree that instead of doing the real work of catching and capturing potential terrorists, U.S. intelligence agencies deliberately involve minors and people with mental disabilities in order to maintain funding levels and gain career advantages.