Washington, DC — Earl Leslie Krugel, member of the Jewish Defense League (JDL), pleaded guilty to one count of carrying an explosive device in connection with a conspiracy to bomb the office of California Congressman Darrell Issa and one count of conspiracy to violate the civil rights of the attendees of a California mosque. This plea bargain also implicates former JDL Chair Irv Rubin who committed suicide in jail this past November, hours before he was to appear in court to face charges. Additionally, the JDL is considered the main suspect in the 1985 murder of Alex Odeh, West Coast Regional Director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). The men were arrested in December 2001, following attempts to buy what has been described as “bomb-making materiel.” The FBI determined that they were preparing attacks on Muslim and Arab-American groups. The JDL was also linked to a series of violent attacks on various targets in the 70s and 80s, including Arab-American organizations such as ADC.
ADC has been raising the issue of Odeh’s murder with the FBI and Justice Department in recent weeks, including directly with Attorney General John Ashcroft. ADC hopes that this guilty plea will lead to the prosecution of those responsible for this heinous act of terrorism.
ADC President Ziad Asali, M.D., said “Hate crimes against our community have increased 1,600% according to the latest FBI statistics. Anti-Islamic incidents are now the number one reported religious hate crime in America, even surpassing anti-Jewish incidents. These crimes tear at the very fabric of our country which is built on the values of tolerance, diversity, and acceptance.”