Monday, November 24, 2014

New Details of Henrico Arrest

HENRICO, VA-
A Henrico woman faces charges of lying to federal investigators about supporting the Islamic State militant group.Authorities analyzed five Facebook accounts they believe belong to Heather Elizabeth Coffman and say they showed support for ISIS. The 29-year-old now faces a charge of lying about an offense dealing with terrorism.
On one of the accounts, "Ubeida Ametova" lists her work and education as "jihad for Allah's sake."
Coffman is not talking and said "absolutely not" to an NBC12 request for an interview, according to a lieutenant at the Pamunkey Regional Jail where she is being held.
There's a large "no trespassing" sign placed prominently on the front door of the Coffman's Penick Road home. Coffman's mother also refused to talk, saying “I'm not talking."
Right now, Coffman is only charged with lying to the feds about an offense involving international or domestic terrorism, but the facts uncovered in court documents detail alleged support of ISIS.That alleged backing shocked neighbors.
“That's horrible,” Armand Liangco said. “I mean, we know that these people are killing innocent people, so, supporting them, I don't know. I can't imagine that this thing was going to happen here.”
The FBI investigated Coffman for seven months.
One neighbor recalled surveillance in the area. He says Wednesday night he saw a black van and then a black SUV sitting in the street. He went out to find out what was going on and says and FBI agent got out of the car and told him they're watching someone in the area.
The documents detail conversations about travel to Syria, but Coffman's attorney told the Washington Post as far as he knows she hasn't traveled anywhere, saying, "I imagine you can get into trouble on the Internet but I imagine you can also think a lot more's going on than really is. If nothing else, this is a certainly a cautionary tale about the Internet."
According to the documents, when asked if she supported ISIS, Coffman responded, "We don't talk about things like that."
No word yet on whether any other charges will be placed.
Coffman is in custody and will face a detention hearing Wednesday afternoon in Richmond.

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