Sun. Dec 22nd, 2024

FBI Seal

A Garden Grove man, Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, was charged Friday with trying to support Al Qaeda and making false statements on his passport, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Twenty-four-year-old Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen of Garden Grove, also known as Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, was stopped at a bus station in Santa Ana, Calif. at 7:30 a.m. by members of the Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force and arrested on suspicion of providing material support to al Qaeda, according to NBC.

Nguyen, also known as “Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum”, was about to board a bus for Mexico at the time of his arrest, Laura Eimiller of the FBI said, according to CBS.

He faces a two-count indictment, handed down Friday morning by a Los Angeles jury, that says Nguyen also made false statements on a passport application, and that he did so to “facilitate an act of international terrorism,” according to SCPR.

The FBI statement says investigators do not believe Nguyen was traveling with others, and the agency is not aware of a continuing threat to the public, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Nguyen’s mother Hieu Nguyen told reporters at the courthouse that she doesn’t know anything about the case and was surprised by the allegations. She and Nguyen’s brother said he converted to Islam in the past year, according to The Republic.

Nguyen was scheduled to appear later in the day in federal court in Santa Ana. His lawyer, Amy Karlin, declined to comment, according to NPR.

author avatar
Art Pedroza Editor
Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

By Art Pedroza

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

2 thoughts on “FBI arrests Garden Grove man with possible Al Qaeda ties, in Santa Ana”
  1. I think this is the same dude editor would get his nails polished and share latte with at the little saigon bikini bar. I am pretty sure by looking at the photo.

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