October Martinique Lewis was a member of a terrorist group dubbed the

Portland Seven The Portland Seven was a group of United States, American Islam, Muslims from the Portland, Oregon area arrested in October 2002 as part of an FBI operation attempting to close down a terrorism, terrorist cell. The seven were attempting to join al Q ...

, some members of which attempted to travel to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

shortly after

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

in order to aid the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

. Lewis was sentenced to three years in federal prison after cooperating with the government and pleading guilty to six counts of

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

. Lewis admitted to transferring money abroad to Jeffrey Leon Battle, her ex-husband, in order to assist him in his efforts to aid the Taliban. Lewis and Battle were married in 1999, divorcing after five months, although they continued to live together. According to Lewis' mother, Lewis and Battle had worked in a Portland retirement home. Patrice Lumumba Ford, Jeffrey Battle, October Martinique Lewis, Muhammad Ibrahim Bilal, his brother Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal, Maher "Mike" Hawash, and Habis Abdulla al Saoub made up the original seven members wanted by the FBI. The members of the Portland Seven "were all named in the 15-count superseding indictment that included charges of conspiracy to levy war against the United States, conspiracy to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda, conspiracy to contribute services to al Qaeda and the Taliban, conspiracy to possess and discharge firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence, possessing firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence and money laundering." On September 29, 2001, Battle, Ford and al Saoub were discovered while engaged in shooting practice in a gravel pit in

Skamania County, Washington Skamania County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,036. The county seat and largest incorporated city is Stevenson, although the Carson River Valley CDP is more populous. The ...

. Also present was Ali Khalid Steitiye, who did not become an indicted member of the Portland Seven on terrorism charges, but who was separately charged with other crimes. According to the indictment, between October 2001 and January 2002, Lewis wired a series of money orders to Battle in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. The six male members of the group travelled to China in early 2002, with the intent of entering Afghanistan to aid the Taliban. Lacking visas and other documentation, they were turned back, and all but al Saoub then returned again to the United States. On October 3, 2002, a federal grand jury in

United States District Court for the District of Oregon The United States District Court for the District of Oregon (in case citations, D. Ore. or D. Or.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the sta ...

, at Portland, Oregon, indicted Battle, Ford, the two Bilals, al Saoub and Lewis. 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. Battle, Ford and Lewis were all arrested that morning in Portland.FBI’S Joint Terrorism Task Force Arrests Four on Terrorism Charges, Two Others Who Were Indicted Are Now Fugitives
FBI Press Release, Portland Field Office, Google Cache, October 4, 2002. Al Saoub was killed by

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

i forces in October 2003. Ford and Battle are each serving eighteen-year sentences. Ahmed Bilal got ten years, while Muhamamd Bilal got eight. Hawash was sentenced to seven years. Lewis was released on January 20, 2006.

References

External links

''The Oregonian'' news archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, October American Islamists Muslims with branch missing Living people Year of birth missing (living people)