Richard Reid

Richard Reid
File:Richard reid 1.jpg
Born	Richard Colvin Reid (1973-08-12) August 12, 1973 Bromley, London, England
Nationality	British
Other names	Tariq Raja (طارق راجا) Abdel Rahim (عبدالرحیم) Abdul Raheem Abu Ibrahim
Criminal status	Incarcerated at ADX Florence, Colorado
Conviction(s)	Guilty of all charges
Criminal charge	I. Attempted Use of Weapon of Mass Destruction II. Attempted Homicide III. Placing an Explosive Device on Aircraft IV. Attempted Murder V. Interference with Flight Crew and Attendants VI. Attempted Destruction of an Aircraft VII. Using a Destructive Device During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence VIII. Attempted Wrecking of a Mass Transportation Vehicle
Penalty	Life in prison

Richard Colvin Reid (born August 12, 1973) commonly known as the shoe bomber, is a self-admitted member of al-Qaeda who pled guilty in 2002 in U.S. federal court to eight criminal counts of terrorism stemming from his attempt to destroy a commercial aircraft in-flight by detonating explosives hidden in his shoes. He is currently serving a life sentence without parole in a super maximum security prison in the United States. His crime led to the new requirement of American airline passengers having to remove their shoes for inspection before boarding a flight or entering an airline terminal.

Background

Reid, was born a British citizen in Bromley, South London, to Leslie Hughes, who was of white English descent, and Colvin Robin Reid, whose father was a Jamaican immigrant of African descent. When Reid was born, his father, a career criminal, was in jail for stealing a car. Reid left school at age 16, becoming a petty crook who was in and out of jail himself; the first time for assaulting an elderly woman. He began writing graffiti under the name Enrol with FRF crew, and ultimately accumulated more than 10 convictions for crimes against persons and property, serving sentences at the Feltham Young Offenders Institution and at the Blundeston Prison. According to his father, Reid became depressed and blamed racism for some of his problems. His father advised him to convert to Islam, telling him that Muslims were more egalitarian and they got better food in prison. The next time Reid was incarcerated (in 1995 for petty theft), he converted.

Upon his release from prison in 1996 he joined the Brixton Mosque. He later began attending the Finsbury Park Mosque in North London headed at that time by the anti-American cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri and described as "the heart of the extremist Islamic culture" in Britain. By 1998 Reid was voicing extremist views, and may have fallen under the sway of "terrorist talent spotters and handlers" allied with Al Qaeda.

He spent 1999 and 2000 in Pakistan and trained at a terrorist camp in Afghanistan, according to several informants. He may also have attended an anti-American religious training center in Lahore, Pakistan as a follower of Mubarak Ali Gilani. During this time he met Saajid Badat.

After his return Reid set about obtaining duplicate passports from British government consulates abroad. Reid next resided at numerous places in Europe, communicating via an address in Peshawar, Pakistan, a city known for its Al Qaeda connections. In July 2001, Reid flew to Israel, passing through the El Al Airline's very tight security network, in what was possibly a test of his ability to pass through airport security screening anywhere. He then moved to Amsterdam, living there from August 2001 through November 2001, working as a dishwasher.

Reid and Badat returned to Pakistan in November 2001, and reportedly traveled overland to Afghanistan. They were given "shoe bombs", casual footwear adapted to be covertly smuggled onto aircraft before being used to destroy them. Later forensic analysis of both bombs showed that they contained the same plastic explosive and that the respective lengths of detonator cord had come from the same batch: indeed, the cut mark on Badat's cord matches exactly that on Reid's. The pair returned separately to Great Britain in early December 2001. Reid went to Belgium for 10 days before catching a train to Paris on December 16.

On December 21, 2001, Reid attempted to board a flight from Paris, France to Miami, Florida, but his boarding was delayed because his disheveled physical appearance aroused the suspicions of the airline passenger screeners. Reid also did not answer all of their questions, and had not checked any luggage for the transatlantic flight. Additional screening by the French National Police resulted in Reid's being re-issued a ticket for a flight on the following day. He returned to the Paris airport on December 22, 2001, and he boarded American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami, wearing his special shoes packed with plastic explosives in their hollowed-out bottoms.

Bombing attempt on American Airlines Flight 63

Main article: 2001 shoe bomb plot

One of Reid's shoes

On December 22, 2001, passengers on Flight 63 complained of a smoke smell in the cabin shortly after a meal service. One flight attendant, Hermis Moutardier, thinking she smelled a burnt match, walked the aisles of the plane, trying to assess the source. A passenger pointed to Reid, who was sitting alone near a window and attempting to light a match. Moutardier warned him that smoking was not allowed on the airplane. Reid then promised to stop.

A few minutes later, Moutardier found Reid leaned over in his seat. Her attempts to get his attention failed. After asking "What are you doing?" Reid grabbed at her, revealing one shoe in his lap, a fuse which led into the shoe, and a lit match. She tried grabbing Reid twice, but he pushed her to the floor each time, and she yelled for help, and then ran to get water. When another flight attendant, Cristina Jones, arrived to try to subdue him, he fought her and bit her thumb and Moutardier threw water in his face. The 6 foot 4 inch (193 cm) tall, 200+ pound Reid was next subdued by several passengers on the airliner, and then bound up using plastic handcuffs, seatbelt extensions, and headphone cords. A physician on board the airliner administered to Reid a tranquilizer that he found in the emergency medical kit of the airliner. This flight was immediately diverted to the Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, one of the closest US airports.

The explosive apparently did not detonate due to the one-day delay in the take-off of Reid's flight. He had worn his shoes for more than one day, and the rainy weather, perhaps along with Reid's accumulated foot perspiration, caused the fuse to be too damp to ignite.

Legal proceedings and sentencing

File:ADX Florence.jpg

Reid is incarcerated at USP Florence ADMAX, pictured here

Reid was immediately taken into custody after the incident. Two days later he was charged before a federal court in Boston with "interfering with the performance of duties of flight crew members by assault or intimidation," a crime which by itself carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. (Additional charges were added when he was formally indicted by a grand jury.) The judge ordered Reid to be held in jail without bail pending trial due to the seriousness of the crimes he was charged with, and the perceived high risk that he would attempt to flee. At that time, forensic results indicated Reid's shoes contained 10 ounces of C-4 plastic explosives, enough to blow a hole in the plane and cause it to crash. During a preliminary hearing which was held on December 28, an FBI agent testified that forensic analysis had identified the chemicals as PETN, the primary explosive, and TATP (triacetone triperoxide), a chemical needed to detonate the bomb.

The prosecutor proceeded to obtain a grand jury indictment and on January 16, 2002, Reid was charged with eight criminal counts related to his acts of terrorism, namely: attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted homicide, placing an explosive device on an aircraft, attempted murder, interference with flight crew members and attendants, attempted destruction of an aircraft, using a destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence and attempted wrecking of a mass transportation vehicle.

Reid pled guilty to all eight counts on October 4, 2002. On January 31, 2003, he was sentenced by Judge William Young to life in prison with no possibility of parole with three life sentences to be served consecutively. Eight fines of $250,000 each were also imposed. During the sentencing hearing, Reid stated that he was an enemy of the United States and in league with Al-Qaeda. Though Reid proclaimed he was a soldier of God (Allah) under the command of Osama Bin Laden, Judge Young declared:

"You are not an enemy combatant, you are a terrorist" ... "You are not a soldier in any army, you are a terrorist. To call you a soldier gives you far too much stature."

Reid reportedly demonstrated a lack of remorse and a combative nature during the hearing. He is serving his sentences in the Florence, Colorado, Federal prison, the supermax penitentiary located in Fremont County.

Conspirators

Main article: Saajid Badat

Although Reid had insisted that he had acted alone and had built the bombs himself, a palm print and a strand of hair not belonging to Reid were found in the bomb materials. Later on, a British-born man, Saajid Badat from Gloucester, England, admitted that he had conspired with Richard Reid and a Belgian man, Nizar Trabelsi, in a plot to blow up two airliners bound for the United States more-or-less simultaneously, using their shoe bombs. Badat has said that he had been instructed to board a flight from Amsterdam to the United States. Badat never got on board the flight, and he withdrew from his part of the conspiracy. However, Badat did not warn criminal or aviation authorities about the dangers of Mr. Reid. Badat confessed to his crimes immediately after being arrested by the British police. The detonator cord in Badat's bomb was found by experts to be an exact match for cord on Reid's bomb, and their explosive chemicals were essentially identical. Badat said that he had received the bomb-making materials from an Arab in Afghanistan. Badat was sentenced to 13 years in prison by a British judge.

Effects on airline security

Concern about bombs possibly concealed in shoes led to the new requirement of all airline passengers departing from an airport in the United States having to pass through airport security in socks or bare feet while their shoes are scanned for bombs. However, scanners do not find PETN in shoes or strapped to a person. A chemical test is needed.

Alleged role in the September 11 attacks

The captured Al-Qaeda terrorist conspirator, Zacarias Moussaoui, stated at his sentencing hearing in 2006 that Reid was a co-conspirator in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, and that Moussaoui and Reid had intended to hijack a fifth aircraft and crash it into the White House in Washington, D.C., as part of the attacks that took place that day. However, Department of Justice investigators and the federal prosecutors were skeptical of Moussaoui's claim that Reid was involved in the September 11th, 2001, plot.

Prison restrictions

Reid filed a lawsuit against the restrictions placed on him in prison which controlled his communications with lawyers and other non-prisoners, limited his access to Muslim clerics, and prevented him from joining in group prayer at the prison. In 2009, Reid went on a hunger strike and was force-fed and hydrated for several weeks. It was unknown whether Reid's hunger strike was related to his lawsuit. The Department of Justice, after consulting with its Counterterrorism Section, the prosecuting Federal District Attorney's office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, allowed these prison restrictions on Reid to expire during the summer of 2009, making his lawsuit moot.

See also

• Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
• Mohammed al Modadi
• Islamic terrorism
• 2005 London Underground bombings
• Najibullah Zazi

External links

• Staff and agencies (December 26, 2001). "Mosque leader warns over extremist converts". London: Guardian.
• "Richard Reid pleads guilty". CNN. January 22, 2002.
• Harris, Paul (December 31, 2001). "The Shoe-bomb Terrorist". The Tribune, India. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Shafi, Kamran (September 15, 2009). "The knives are out".
• Mikkelson, Barbara (4 February 2010). "Reid My Lips". Retrieved 5 February 2010.
• A Profile of Radical Jamaican-born Cleric Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal al-Jamaikee published by the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, DC