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U.S. Man Accused of Plot to Bomb Resorts
Paul later sent a wire transfer of $1,760 from a financial institution in the U.S. to an alleged co-conspirator in Germany, prosecutors allege.
A fax machine in his home contained names, phone numbers and contact information for key al-Qaida leadership and associates, according to the indictment, issued Wednesday.
![]() William Hunt, left, first assistant U.S. attorney, answers questions at a news conference at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, April 12, 2007, about Christopher Paul, a 43-year-old Columbus man who was arrested Wednesday for conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction, as Tim Murphy, special agent of the FBI Cincinnati Division, looks on. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon) (Paul Vernon - AP)
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Paul also is accused of storing material at his father's house in Columbus, including a book on improvised land mines, money from countries in the Middle East and a letter to his parents explaining that he would be "on the front lines," according to the indictment.
Paul's sister, Sandra Laws, answered the door at the two-story, pale green home she shares with her father, Ernest, in suburban Columbus but declined to comment on the case.
No charges are expected against family members, authorities said.
Paul was born Paul Kenyatta Laws. He legally changed his name to Abdulmalek Kenyatta in 1989, then to Christopher Paul in 1994, according to the indictment.
After finishing his al-Qaida training in the early 1990s, he returned to Columbus to teach martial arts at a mosque, the indictment said.
Paul is married to a woman named in the indictment as F. Bashir, investigators said. Authorities seized a letter from Paul's apartment that he sent to Bashir about raising "little mujahideen," or holy warriors.
Paul and Jenhawi, who have known each other about a year, attend the same mosque and their daughters play together, Jenhawi said. Paul's daughter is about 9 years old and is homeschooled, he said.
Two other Columbus men have been charged in federal investigators' terrorism investigation. Iyman Faris was sentenced in 2003 to 20 years in prison for a plot to topple the Brooklyn Bridge. Nuradin Abdi, accused of plotting to blow up a Columbus-area shopping mall, is awaiting trial on charges including conspiring to aid terrorists.
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Associated Press reporter Doug Whiteman contributed to this story.
(Corrects spelling of radical in quote from previous version.)


