Qazi Brothers Hit with New Terror Charges and Assault on Marshals

FLORIDA – The Qazi brothers, Raees Alam Qazi, 22, and Sheheryar Alam Qazi, 32, have been slammed with additional terrorism violations and charged with attempting to murder two Deputy U.S. Marshals, according to a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ) USAO.

These brothers, naturalized U.S. citizens originally from Pakistan, were previously charged in November 2012 for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives).

The DOJ’s announcement reveals that the Qazi brothers’ criminal activities spanned from July 2011 to Nov. 29, 2012, where they allegedly conspired to use explosives against U.S. persons and property and attempted to provide support to al-Qa’ida and its Arabian Peninsula affiliate.

In a chilling turn of events on April 8, 2014, while in transit within the United States Courthouse complex, the Qazi brothers attacked two Deputy U.S. Marshals, attempting lethal force with the cry of “Allahu Akbar,” as reported by the DOJ.

The Superseding Indictment against the Qazi brothers includes charges such as conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and forcibly assaulting federal employees, carrying potential sentences ranging from 15 years to life in prison.

Investigation into this case is ongoing under the FBI’s South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force, with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen E. Gilbert and Adam Fels, and Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the Counterterrorism Section. As always, defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.