US charges two in plot against Danish paper over Mohammed cartoons

Oct 27, 2009, 16:40 GMT

Washington - The United States has arrested and charged two people in a plot to attack a Danish newspaper that published cartoons denigrating the Muslim prophet Mohammed in 2005, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

David Coleman Headley, 49, a US citizen from Chicago, was charged with conspiracy to commit terrorist acts. Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, a Pakistani native and Canadian citizen, was charged with providing material support for terrorism.

Headley allegedly led an effort to attack the building and employees of the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, whose 2005 cartoons sparked outrage and some violent protests in the Islamic world.

The Justice Department said Headley travelled to Copenhagen twice earlier this year, visiting the offices of the paper and telling its employees he was interested in advertising opportunities. Rana paid for his trip, according to the charges filed in a federal court in Illinois.

Headley was also allegedly in contact with Pakistani-based terrorist groups that have ties to al-Qaeda. He faces life in prison, while Rana could be jailed for up to 15 years.