“Jihad Jane” due in court today

    The Montgomery County woman accused of helping recruit violent jihadist terrorists will appear for her arraignment.

    The Montgomery County woman accused of helping recruit violent jihadist terrorists is scheduled to appear in court today for arraignment. [audio: 100317LFJIHAD.mp3]

    Officials say Colleen LaRose and five unindicted co-conspirators allegedly used the Internet to recruit participants for violent jihad.

    In an indictment last week, officials charge that LaRose also agreed to kill a resident of Sweden and believed her appearance and American citizenship would help her blend.

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    Penn State University professor Mia Bloom is the author of the forthcoming book “Bombshell: Women and Terror.”

    She says there are a lot of women using the internet to recruit people for jihad – but the accusation against LaRose stands out because she’s American.

    Bloom:
    In addition to Jihad Jane you have Malika El Aroud who’s currently now on trial in Belgium for having been active for a number of years sending European Muslims and other Muslims to the jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

    Bloom says another woman in Italy committed a similar offense.

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