Calif. man arrested in terrorism investigation

10/11/2013

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California man was arrested today after being indicted on charges of attempting to provide material support to al-Qaeda and lying on a U.S. passport application to facilitate an act of terrorism.

Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, 24, of Garden Grove was taken into custody in Santa Ana while waiting to board a bus to Mexico, the FBI said in a statement.

The indictment states that Nguyen, a U.S. citizen also known as Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, tried to work under the direction of al-Qaeda.

The indictment does not add any details on the alleged act of terrorism.

Investigators do not believe Nguyen was traveling with other people, and the FBI said it was not aware of a continuing threat to the public.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller declined to provide additional details. Bruce Riordan, special counsel to the U.S. attorney for the central district of California, declined to speak about the case.

Nguyen was scheduled to appear later in the day in federal court in Santa Ana. His lawyer, Amy Karlin, declined to comment.

Nguyen’s mother Hieu Nguyen told reporters at the courthouse that she doesn’t know anything about the case and was surprised by the allegations. She and Nguyen’s brother said he converted to Islam in the past year.