Tampa Man Convicted of Terrorist Plot Gets 40 Years in Prison
Tampa, Florida – In a shocking turn of events, a federal jury found Sami Osmakac guilty of attempted use of weapons of mass destruction and possession of a fully automatic firearm. Osmakac, 30, of Pinellas Park, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in November 2014.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on January 7, 2012, Osmakac attempted to use weapons of mass destruction, including a car bomb, grenades, and a suicide explosive, at two locations in the Tampa Bay area.
The defendant claimed that his surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) had violated the law, that a misstatement by the government during closing arguments had made his trial unfair, and that the district court should have imposed a lower sentence based on the government’s purported sentencing-factor manipulation.
However, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected each of these arguments. The evidence at trial, the Court observed, had established that, as early as December 2010, Osmakac had “demonstrated a commitment to Islamic extremism.”
The Court also held that the government’s misstatement in closing argument had been corrected by the district court and had been counteracted by the “substantial evidence of Osmakac’s guilt.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted in the district court by Assistant United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney and Trial Attorney Clement McGovern from the National Security Division.
The appeal was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Cherie L. Krigsman, David P. Rhodes, and Sara C. Sweeney. Osmakac will serve his 40-year sentence at a federal prison facility.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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