(Albuquerque Journal) The five defendants arrested after authorities found a dead child at a compound north of Taos in August are now under investigation for a specific terrorism-related charge that has never before been filed in New Mexico, according to a court filing by federal prosecutors.
While the possible charge — providing material support to terrorists — is unprecedented for New Mexico, it has been used hundreds of times across the country in cases related to jihad, said Karen Greenberg, director of the Center for National Security at Fordham Law School.
The case began as a child abuse matter in state court in northern New Mexico. Since then, it has morphed into a case with allegations of terrorism playing out in federal court, where local prosecutors are being assisted by an attorney in the Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section. In fact, federal prosecutors recently said that more serious charges will soon be filed, possibly for terrorism or kidnapping offenses.
