The arrests were part of a federal investigation into a Florida family of Pakistani expatriates that allegedly funneled money directly to religious extremists, the FBI said in Miami.
The money was funding a "jihad" to topple the Pakistani government and fight the United States, the FBI said.
The ringleader was Hafiz Khan, 76, the imam of a mosque in Miami.
Arrested in California was his son, Irfan Khan, 37, who is a Miami resident and U.S. citizen. The FBI did not explain why he was in California, but said he will make his first court appearance in a federal court here.
The father and another son, Izhar Khan, 24, were arrested in Florida, the Justice Department in Washington announced.
Three people in Pakistan were also indicted, and two of those people are also relatives of the Miami family.
In a statement, the Justice Department said that "despite being an imam, or spiritual leader, Hafiz Khan was no man of peace ... He acted with others to support terrorists to further acts of murder, kidnapping and maiming."
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Wiretaps revealed by court documents filed in Miami's Federal Court allege a plot by Khan and his family to pay for attacks against the Pakistani government. He also built a madrassa
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles were not available Saturday to explain how Irfan Khan was arrested in California. The FBI in Miami, which issued the statement, was also not immediately available to explain the Los Angeles connection.
Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18060948?source=rss
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