Five of the six men are charged with conspiracy to murder members of the uniformed services, and all five have pled not guilty. Three of the defendants are brothers, Dritan Duka (age 28), Shain Duka (26) and Eljvir Duka (23), ethnic Albanians from the (former Yugoslav) Republic of Macedonia. The Duka family entered the U.S. illegally across the Mexican border in 1984. In 1989, their father (now facing multiple immigration charges) made an application for asylum with INS, acknowledging the family's illegal entry into the country; the case was not adjudicated and legal residency status never conveyed.

Between 1996 to 2006, police charged Dritan and Shain Duka with a number of offenses including marijuana possession, improper behavior, prowling, disturbing the peace, and obstructing the administration of law. They were fined between $20 and $830 on various occasions and sent home, according to court records. The three brothers were also issued about 50 traffic citations between 1997 and 2006 for speeding, driving without licenses, driving while on the suspended list, and failure to appear in court. Meanwhile, the Duka brothers operated a roofing business with several large contracts, including one to make repairs at their mosque, Masjid Al-Aqsa, located in Philadelphia.

Also charged in the case are Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer (22), Dritan Duka's brother-in-law, a Palestinian cab driver from Jordan who is a naturalized U.S. citizen; Serdar Tartar, born in Turkey, who worked at his father's pizzeria and had regular access to Fort Dix; and Agron Abdullahu, an Albanian from Kosovo charged with aiding and abetting by providing weaponry instruction to the group. Earlier this year, Abdullahu pled guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to allow possession of firearms by illegal aliens and was sentenced to 20 months in jail, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Prosecutors say that although he supplied weapons to the group, he was against the idea of attacking a military installation. However, he was present with the other men, who laughed while watching a video that showed a U.S. Marine getting his arm blown off.

The plot unraveled in early 2006, when the men attempted to convert a videotape of their firearms training session into to a DVD at a Circuit City store in N.J. This caught the attention of store employee Brian Morgenstern, the unsung hero of this case, who notified the authorities and prevented untold casualties. The men continued to work at their jobs, while attempting to buy an arsenal of weapons from an FBI informant. Their conversations were taped by a confidential witness who infiltrated the group, and the transcripts provide a detailed, chilling look into the minds of these would-be murderers and their motivations.

Recent developments indicate the men are possibly engaged in terror recruiting while in prison awaiting trial, or at the very least, haven’t abandoned their radical cause. In December 2007, the court received evidence that Eljvir Duka wrote a letter to another Muslim inmate specifically stating “were (sic) going to sacrifice all for the sake of allah in jihad” and referring to the “fight we weren’t able to finish”. A video released by the court purportedly shows letters being delivered between their prison cells. The government also filed discovery with the courts indicating that defendant Shnewer gave another inmate a copy of an Al Qaeda-produced DVD last month. Guards found a copy of the disc in a book in the detention center's law library.

The debate about the authenticity of the letter, the letter exchange video and the Al Qaeda DVD will take place when the trial for the 5 remaining defendants starts September 29, 2008. An innovative website devoted to the trial was developed by the U.S. District Court trying the case, and contains orders and decisions by the court. Soon the court will post evidence presented by both the prosecution and defense, and will eventually provide updated coverage of the trial.

About the Author
Jenni Hesterman is a retired Air Force colonel and counterterrorism specialist. She is a senior analyst for The MASY Group, a Global Intelligence and Risk Management firm that supports both the U.S. Government and leading corporations. She is also an adjunct professor at American Military University, teaching courses in homeland security and intelligence studies.