DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INDICTS MOUSSAOUI
FOR SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia today returned the first terrorist indictment directly related to the events of September 11. Zacarias Moussaoui is charged with conspiring with other unindicted co-conspirators including Usama Bin Ladin, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Mustafa Ahmed, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, and the 19 hijackers, to murder thousands of people, including Americans in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania on September 11.

"Al Qaeda stands accused of the brutal attacks of September 11. For those who continue to doubt al Qaeda's role in the murders that occurred three months ago today, this indictment offers 30 pages of chilling allegations of its campaign of terror," said Attorney General John Ashcroft.

The indictment lists six counts against Moussaoui, four of which authorize the maximum penalty, upon conviction, of death. The indictment specifically charges Moussaoui with:

• Conspiracy to Commit Acts of Terrorism Transcending National Boundaries (maximum penalty is death);
• Conspiracy to Commit Aircraft Piracy (maximum penalty is death);
• Conspiracy to Destroy Aircraft (maximum penalty is death);
• Conspiracy to Use Weapons of Mass Destruction (maximum penalty is death);
• Conspiracy to Murder United States Employees (maximum penalty is life in prison); and
• Conspiracy to Destroy Property (maximum penalty is life in prison).

The indictment sets forth that Moussaoui is alleged to have engaged in the same preparation and training for murder as the 19 co-conspirators who carried out the September 11 hijackings. It alleges that Moussaoui, like the 19 hijackers, trained at an al Qaeda affiliated camp in Afghanistan, received flight training in the United States, received funding from sources in Germany and the Middle East, and pledging the same purpose to kill Americans. It also alleges that Moussaoui, like his co-conspirator Mohamed Atta, made inquiries with a crop dusting company, and that he had in his possession a computer disk containing information related to the aerial application of pesticides.

The indictment makes clear the work of Moussaoui in concert with unindicted co-conspirators Mustafah Ahmed al Hawsawi and Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, currently believed to be fugitives in Afghanistan, to carry out the September 11 attacks. When Bin al-Shibh, believed to have been an intended hijacker, was refused entry into the United States, he is alleged to have acted as a financier and transferred money to Moussaoui and other terrorists, including acting as financier for the September 11 attacks and wiring Moussaoui money for flight training.

Moussaoui is charged with working as part of the al Qaeda network led by Usama Bin Ladin with the purpose of building an infrastructure of terror that continues to threaten the civilized world. The indictment charges that these terrorists have provided training camps and military and intelligence training in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan and other areas for the use of al Qaeda and its affiliated groups. Moussaoui will be arraigned at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia on January 2, 2002.

The Attorney General today congratulated Paul McNulty from the Eastern District of Virginia, Mary Jo White from the Southern District of New York and prosecutors from the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, specifically praising the New York U.S. Attorney's office for their valuable work. Today's indictment was brought in the Eastern District of Virginia in recognition of the fact that this is a national struggle against terrorism and that the September 11 attack struck at one of our most important institutions of government, the Pentagon. The prosecution team will be made up of representatives from the Eastern District of Virginia, the Southern District of New York and the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.

An indictment contains only allegations. The defendant(s) are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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