Va. Muslim Spiritual Leader Gets Life

Prosecutors said Timimi -- the former primary lecturer at the Center for Islamic Information and Education, also known as Dar Al-Arqam, in Falls Church -- was a revered figure to the Muslim men convicted in the earlier case.

The heart of the government's evidence against Timimi was a meeting he attended in Fairfax on Sept. 16, 2001, five days after the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. Timimi told his followers that "the time had come for them to go abroad and join the mujaheddin engaged in violent jihad in Afghanistan," according to court papers.

Many who attended that meeting practiced for jihad by playing paintball in the Virginia countryside, and some left the United States to train at terrorist training camps, although none actually went to Afghanistan and fought against American troops.

Defense lawyers portrayed Timimi as a Muslim scholar whose often-incendiary rhetoric merely reflected his right to free speech. Some legal experts agreed that the case raised troubling First Amendment concerns, while others said that his words crossed the line because they could have incited violence.

But Brinkema, in rejecting defense motions for acquittal and a new trial, said she was satisfied that the case did not "violate any of Timimi's First Amendment rights. This is not a case about speech. This is a case about intent.''

The judge said that the required sentences, including a life term for a gun charge, were "very draconian.''

Defense lawyers, who vowed to appeal the verdict and sentence, said they understood that Brinkema had no choice.

"I'm very saddened today that this has come to this,'' MacMahon said as he concluded his courtroom remarks.