A man accused of making threats against the life of President Barack Obama will now face trial in November, after his original Oct. 3 court date was pushed back. The man, a native of Uzbekistan, was illegally living in Pelham, Ala., at the time when federal and local authorities arrested him for several alleged threats he made against the President mid-July. Earlier this month, U.S. Magistrate Judge Harwell Davis announced that the trial of Ulugbek Kodirov would be postponed until Nov. 7 so that court officials could translate video evidence from Uzbek to English. Officials reportedly had dozens of hours of video, and want to have time to evaluate all of it before proceeding with the trial.
In August, Pelham Police Department detective Lt. Scott Tucker and other local law enforcement assisted federal authorities from the FBI, CIA and Secret Service, among others, in the arrest of Kodirov, who had been staying at an extended-stay hotel illegally in Pelham. Upon further investigation and a search of Kodirov's living quarters, authorities found a Sendra Corp. Model M15-A1 machine gun and four grenades that didn't yet contain powder. He had gotten the M15 rifle from an undercover agent.
Kodirov also allegedly had expressed support of Islamic extremist groups and had visited jihadist websites. He made contact with another undercover agent and expressed a desire to kill President Obama.
Kodirov plead not guilty to four counts of threatening the President one count of receiving and possessing an unregistered grenade, one count of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and unlawfully possessing a fully automatic weapon, said his attorney, a Birmingham, Ala., lawyer named Lance Bell.
Lt. Tucker said the case has been handled by federal authorities, but local law enforcement was integral to the arrest. The Shelby County and Jefferson County sheriffs' departments, the Federal Air Marshals, the Hoover, UAB and Birmingham police departments and local members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force were also involved in helping with the case.
Kodirov had been living in the United States since 2009, when he came to live on a student visa. The visa was revoked when he failed to enroll in classes for another year of school, said the arrest affidavit. If convicted in November, he will face maximum prison penalties of five years on each count of threatening the President, and 10 years on each of the weapons counts.
The Pelham, Ala., area had had another terrorism scare right after Kodirov was arrested, when a man walked into a local church and began threatening employees. Tucker said that case fits the bill for a terrorist activity charge, but terrorism is not an element of the prosecution of Kodirov. Both incidents happened just weeks before the entire nation joined together to remember Sept. 11, 2001.
After the hours of video evidence have been translated, the prosecution hopes to have found "a discovery." Bell says the defense is still awaiting discovery, and the case won't move on until all evidence has been evaluated.
In August, Pelham Police Department detective Lt. Scott Tucker and other local law enforcement assisted federal authorities from the FBI, CIA and Secret Service, among others, in the arrest of Kodirov, who had been staying at an extended-stay hotel illegally in Pelham. Upon further investigation and a search of Kodirov's living quarters, authorities found a Sendra Corp. Model M15-A1 machine gun and four grenades that didn't yet contain powder. He had gotten the M15 rifle from an undercover agent.
Kodirov also allegedly had expressed support of Islamic extremist groups and had visited jihadist websites. He made contact with another undercover agent and expressed a desire to kill President Obama.
Kodirov plead not guilty to four counts of threatening the President one count of receiving and possessing an unregistered grenade, one count of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and unlawfully possessing a fully automatic weapon, said his attorney, a Birmingham, Ala., lawyer named Lance Bell.
Lt. Tucker said the case has been handled by federal authorities, but local law enforcement was integral to the arrest. The Shelby County and Jefferson County sheriffs' departments, the Federal Air Marshals, the Hoover, UAB and Birmingham police departments and local members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force were also involved in helping with the case.
Kodirov had been living in the United States since 2009, when he came to live on a student visa. The visa was revoked when he failed to enroll in classes for another year of school, said the arrest affidavit. If convicted in November, he will face maximum prison penalties of five years on each count of threatening the President, and 10 years on each of the weapons counts.
The Pelham, Ala., area had had another terrorism scare right after Kodirov was arrested, when a man walked into a local church and began threatening employees. Tucker said that case fits the bill for a terrorist activity charge, but terrorism is not an element of the prosecution of Kodirov. Both incidents happened just weeks before the entire nation joined together to remember Sept. 11, 2001.
After the hours of video evidence have been translated, the prosecution hopes to have found "a discovery." Bell says the defense is still awaiting discovery, and the case won't move on until all evidence has been evaluated.
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