A Rockford man was sentenced to 35 years in jail for planning a grenade attack on a mall of Christmas shoppers.
The terrorist, Derrick Shareef, a Muslim convert, insists he is not an extremist.
The AP and ROP reported:
A one-time admirer of Osama bin Laden who plotted a hand-grenade attack at a mall jammed with Christmas shoppers — and tried to trade two stereo speakers for the weapons — was sentenced to 35 years in prison Tuesday.
Derrick Shareef of Rockford said he once admired bin Laden as a sheik and a scholar but has changed his views and opposes violence.
“I am not an extremist,” said Shareef, who was sentenced on his 24th birthday.
