U.S. Government Seeks 'Decades' In Prison for Jihad Jane

The woman known as “Jihad Jane” is now facing serious prison time for her crimes.

Despite calling her contributions to terrorist investigations “very significant,” prosecutors against Colleen LaRose, dubbed”Jihad Jane” in the media, are asking for her to be sentenced to “decades behind bars.” LaRose is expected to be sentenced on Monday in Philadelphia for her part in a 2009 plot to kill Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who sparked controversy by depicting the Prophet Mohammed with a dog’s head.

In a presentence filing this week, U.S. authorities reiterated what they declared when LaRose’s arrest was made public in 2010 – that her gender, blond hair, Texas twang and green eyes make her case significant because she does not fit the stereotype of an Islamic terrorist.

“News of LaRose’s arrest spread shockwaves throughout the West, as people recognized that the face of the terrorism threat had changed forever,” prosecutors Jennifer Arbittier Williams and Matthew Blue wrote. “The world is watching, and this sentencing presents an important opportunity to send a strong message to other lonely, vulnerable people who might be enticed by online extremists promising fame and honor.”

According to a profile by Reuters, LaRose met a Muslim man 2007 and became romantically involved with him. The relationship sparked an interest in Islam. She learned about the religion online and later converted. She told Reuters watching videos of atrocities against Palestinian children radicalized her.

LaRose was arrested in 2009 for plotting to kill Vilks; in 2011 she pleaded guilty to the charges against her. Prosecutors said in their proceedings LaRose “managed to align herself with violent terrorists who valued her ability and persistence as their online predator, or ‘hunter.”

LaRose told Reuters “I just loved my brothers so much, when they would tell me stuff, I would listen to them, no matter what…and I also was… lost.”