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'I'm literally having a blast': What CalifornianMuslim convert posted on Facebook from Syriabefore being arrested for aiding Al-Qaeda

Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, 24, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to joinAl-Qaeda and lying on a U.S. passport application to aid international terrorismHe was arrested on Friday trying to board a bus to MexicoThe Garden Grove man converted to Islam two years ago and went by the nameHasan Abu Omar GhannoumThe indictment did not detail the alleged terrorist activity

By Associated Press Reporter and Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 03:23 GMT, 13 October 2013 | UPDATED: 03:23 GMT, 13 October 2013

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Convert: Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, who changed his name to Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoumwhen he converted to Islam, has been indicted on two counts of trying to support Al

Qaeda and making false statements on his passport

A 24-year-old Muslim convert who had been licensed to work as a security guard has pleaded not guilty tocharges of attempting to join Al-Qaeda and lying on a U.S. passport application to aid internationalterrorism.

Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, who also went by the name Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum after converting to Islam,was arrested on Friday in Santa Ana while waiting to board a bus to Mexico, the FBI said.

Officials said he planned to become a foot soldier for the terrorist group and had spent time in Syria.

A Facebook page with the name Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, the same identity Nguyen used in hispassport, documented a trip to Lebanon last year and a crossing into Syria.

In January, Ghannoum wrote: 'I'm doing well in Syria … having a blast here, and I mean literally.'

The Garden Grove, California, resident was ordered detained on the grounds of danger and risk of flightduring a brief federal court appearance in Orange County. He is a U.S. citizen.

The four-page indictment alleges Nguyen attempted to work under the direction of Al-Qaeda, but no detailsof the alleged terrorism act were provided.

The Orange County Register reported Nguyen went to Syria in December after hearing about the civilwar.

'He said that he wanted to protect his brothers,' Nguyen's sister, Minh Ngoc Nguyen, said. 'He would wantto help other people.'

Nguyen lived with his parents, two sisters and two brothers in Garden Grove. Another brother lives inNevada and serves with the Army.

Explosive: A Facebook page with the name Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, the sameidentity Nguyen used in his passport, documented certain explosive activities in January

Indicted: Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, 24, of Garden Grove, was arrested in Santa Ana whilewaiting to board a bus to Mexico, the FBI said

Minh Ngoc Nguyen said her brother was raised Catholic but began attending mosques as he sought anunderstanding of God and converted to Islam about two years ago.

His family also said Nguyen spent several months in Lebanon from late last year to the spring of this year.

'He wanted to view more of the religious things. First-hand experience,' Nguyen's younger brother,18-year-old Dinh Nguyen, said. 'He was not part of Al-Qaeda.'

He said FBI agents searched the room he shared with his brother, and they confiscated his cellphone andcomputer.

This is the Garden Grove, California, home of the family of Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen

Supportive: Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen's sister, Minh Nguyen (pictured) said her brother'wanted to protect his brothers...He would want to help other people.'

Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, 24, shown in an artist's sketch at his initial appearance in theUnited States District Court in Santa Ana

Nguyen's mother, Hieu Nguyen, said at the courthouse that she knew nothing about the case and wassurprised by the allegations.

Nguyen's sister said her brother was in Syria to study the Qur'an and help villagers in December.

Ghannoum's Facebook page claims he was helping Syrian freedom fighters in this time.

The user claimed his 'first confirmed kill' in early February and added: 'So pumped to get more!!'

In April, the user posted a picture of a blood-soaked man, 'A Dear Brother of mine,' and described losingfive other comrades in a fight to seize an airport.

Investigators do not believe Nguyen was traveling with others, and the FBI said it was not aware of acontinuing threat to the public. The investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force was ongoing.

Nguyen was licensed as a security guard and had permits for a baton and firearm from California's Bureauof Security and Investigative Services, according to Russ Heimerich, a state spokesman.

He obtained the license and permits in 2009 and they were set to expire September 30, 2013, though itwasn't known if he tried to renew them.

Officials for the FBI and U.S. attorney's office declined comment. Defense lawyer Amy Karlin also declinedcomment.

Nguyen was scheduled to return to court October 18.

Read more:

Man suspected of helping al-Qaida pleads not guilty

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Comments (8)

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Lionel 70, Macclesfield, United Kingdom, 3 weeks ago

He would have found himself expendable and would not have lasted very long.

388

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John, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, 3 weeks ago

If you are uneducated and or unintelligent it is easy to believe in a god!

9899

SMB, Liverpool, 3 weeks ago

Those who seek heaven through terror and murder and call it piety are not real worthy of anything but the true karma of theiractions.

2119

JackyBassett, City of London, United Kingdom, 3 weeks ago

This idiot is lucky certain people in Syria didn't find out he was an American citizen or he'd lying in a ditch somewhere with abullet in his head.

12129

Hoofer, Heartland, United States, 3 weeks ago

Sorry, not enough beard.

1059

Dervish, Hereandthere, Canada, 3 weeks ago

lost and confused idiot

696

Ken57, Grand Rapids MI, United States, 3 weeks ago

Read 'Sleeper Cell' by Jeffrey Anderson or 'The First Horseman' by John Case and get back to me.

229

Termites, Georgia, United States, 3 weeks ago

You don't lie on a Federal Appilcation that's one thing you don't want to do.homeland Security has his name rest of his life it'sDESTORYED .unemployed former Security officer lololololol .Dummy

568

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