Patrice Lumumba Ford has been accused of membership in a terrorist group dubbed the Portland Seven, members of which attempted to travel to Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 in order to aid the Taliban.
"[2] Ford indicated at one point that "he wanted to marry a "real" Muslim – not a "fake" American one – who carries an AK-47 assault rifle and is "ready to run and blow something up.""
In 2001:[2] [Ford] was so upset by this country's Middle Eastern policy that he sent an email to Mayor Vera Katz's office that was troubling enough in its anti-Semitism to be forwarded to the Portland police.Ford, Jeffrey Leon Battle, October Martinique Lewis (Battle's ex-wife), Muhammad Ibrahim Bilal, his brother Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal, Maher "Mike" Hawash, and Habis Abdulla al Saoub made up the original seven people (Portland Seven) wanted by the FBI.
According to the United States Department of Justice, "Ford also admitted that after the September 11th attacks, he purchased a shotgun and then conducted weapons training on two occasions at a gravel pit in Washougal, Washington, with other co-defendants.
"[4] On September 29, 2001, Battle, Ford and al Saoub were discovered while engaged in shooting practice in a gravel pit in Skamania County, Washington.
[citation needed] According to the indictment, on October 17, 2001, Battle and al Saoub flew out of Portland International Airport en route to Afghanistan.
On October 4, 2002 the FBI in Portland, Oregon announced the arrest of four of those original six on charges of aiding and, in some cases, trying to join Al-Qaida fighters.
[6] Sekou Ford claimed that his brother Patrice, and his associates, were merely scapegoats for an "overfunded, undereffective Joint Terrorism Task Force".
This analysis was rejected by the U.S attorney who prosecuted the case, Charles Gorder, who said: "These guys are terrorists and traitors, not political pawns."