Ex-Jihadist linked to LeT camps in Pakistan appointed to Donald Trump’s White House advisory board

NEW DELHI: A former jihadist operative from the US who had allegedly attended proscribed terror outfit Lashker e Taiba’s training camp in Pakistan in 2000, helped other jihadists gain entry to these camps and engaged in terrorist activities in Kashmir, including firing at Indian positions, has been appointed by the Donald Trump regime to the White House Advisory Board of Lay Leaders.Ismail Royer and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, co-founder of Zaytuna Collegewere listed despite their alleged affiliations with Islamic jihadists and proscribed terror groups including LeT, al Qaeda and HAMAS, according to US investigative journalist Lara Loomer. Royer, who was Rendell Royer till he converted to Islam in 2000, was convicted by a US court in 2004 and handed a 20-year jail sentence for terrorist activities that targeted Americans — specifically, as part of the Virginia jihadi network.He was investigated by the FBI and in 2003, indicted on terrorism-related charges, including conspiracy to levy war against the US and providing material support toal-Qaeda and LeT. He pleaded guilty in 2004 to aiding and abetting the use of firearms and explosives, receiving a 20-year sentence but serving only 13 years, Loomer posted on X on Saturday. As per the White House statement, Ismail Royer serves as Director of the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team for the Religious Freedom Institute. “Since converting to Islam in 1992, he has studied religious sciences with traditional Islamic scholars and spent over a decade working at non-profit Islamic organizations. Royer has worked with nonprofits to promote peace between faiths,” it states.Loomer claimed that a second appointee to the advisory board of Lay Leaders — described by the White House statement as co-founder of Zaytuna College, the first accredited Muslim liberal arts college in the United States, and an advisor to the Center for Islamic Studies at Berkeley’s Graduate Theological Union — also has a jihadi background.“I to inform you that Shaykh Hamza Yusuf @yusuf is also a Jihadi who has lied about the true definition of jihad and is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and HAMAS. Zaytuna College, which was co-founded by Hamza Yusuf @sh_hamzayusuf , teaches Sharia Law,” she posted.According to a DoJ statement dated January 16, 2004, Royer and a co-accused Ibrahim Al-Hamdi pleaded guilty to weapons and explosives charges stemming from the investigation into a militant jihadist network in Northern Virginia that allegedly planned to train at terrorist camps abroad. Royer, then 30, pleaded guilty to a two-count criminal information, charging him with using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and with carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony. Royer was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but remained there for around 13 years.In his plea agreement, Royer admitted to aiding and abetting co-defendant Masoud Khan, Yong Ki Kwon, Muhammed Aatique, and Khwaja Mahmoud Hasan in gaining entry to a terrorist training camp in Pakistan operated by Lashkar-e-Taiba where they trained in the use of various weapons, including semi-automatic pistols. Royer also admitted to helping co-defendant Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi gain entry to the Lashkar-e-Taiba camp, where Al-Hamdi received training in the use of a rocket-propelled grenade in furtherance of a conspiracy to conduct military operations against India. Royer acknowledged that he committed his efforts to help other jihadists gain entry to the Lashkar-e-Taiba training camp following a meeting on Sept. 16, 2001, at which an unindicted conspirator said that the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, would be used as an excuse to trigger a global war against Islam, and that the time had come for them to go abroad and, if possible, join the mujahideen.According to Lara Loomer, Ismail Royer, born Randall Todd Royer, embraced Islam and became involved in Muslim advocacy, but his experiences fighting in the Bosnian War and engaging with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Pakistan in 2000 marked a turn toward jihadi militancy. “His activities with LeT, a US-designated terrorist organization, included propaganda, firing at Indian positions in Kashmir, and possessing weapons, demonstrating a commitment to violent jihadist causes,” she posted.Post-9/11, Royer was a key figure in the “Virginia Jihad Network,” organizing paintball training and facilitating travel to LeT camps for weapons training, with some members aiming to support the Taliban against US forces.Royer was released from prison in 2017.