Patrice Lumumba Ford facts for kids

Patrice Lumumba Ford was part of a group known as the Portland Seven. This group was accused of trying to travel to Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks to help the Taliban. Ford chose not to cooperate with the government. He was sentenced to eighteen years in prison after admitting he planned to fight against the U.S. government and its allies.

About Patrice Lumumba Ford

Patrice Lumumba Ford was named after Patrice Lumumba, a famous leader. His father, Kent Ford, started the Black Panther Party in Portland in the 1960s. A family friend, Kathleen Sadat, said that Lumumba was taught to get along with people from all cultures.

Ford went to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1989. Later, he studied at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. He focused on Chinese and International Studies. He spent three semesters studying in China, where he became a Muslim. One of his teachers, Professor Gerald Sussman, said Ford was very smart and responsible.

In 1998 and 1999, Ford worked at Portland City Hall in Oregon. People described him as a "model intern" because he did such a good job.

The Portland Seven Group

Patrice Lumumba Ford was one of the seven people the FBI wanted. The group included 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. They were called the Portland Seven.

Weapons Training and Travel Plans

The United States Department of Justice stated that Ford admitted to buying a shotgun after the September 11 attacks. He also trained with weapons two times at a gravel pit in Washougal, Washington, with others.

On September 29, 2001, Battle, Ford, and al Saoub were found practicing shooting in a gravel pit in Skamania County, Washington. A deputy sheriff found them after a neighbor reported gunshots. The deputy let them go after getting their names and told the FBI. These three became key members of the "Portland Seven."

According to official documents, Battle and al Saoub flew from Portland International Airport to Afghanistan on October 17, 2001. A few days later, on October 20, 2001, Ford and the two Bilals took the same route out of the United States. Ford sent money to al Saoub in China in November 2001 and January 2002. Ford returned to the U.S. around November 19, 2001.

In early 2002, the six male members of the group traveled to China. They planned to enter Afghanistan to help the Taliban. However, they did not have the right papers and were sent back. All of them returned to the United States except for al Saoub.

Arrests and Outcomes

On October 3, 2002, a federal grand jury in Portland, Oregon, officially charged Battle, Ford, the two Bilals, al Saoub, and Lewis. The next day, the FBI in Portland announced that four of them had been arrested. They were charged with helping and trying to join fighters linked to Al-Qaida. Battle, Ford, and Lewis were all arrested that morning in Portland.

Al Saoub was later killed by Pakistani forces in Afghanistan while with a group linked to Al-Qaida. Jeffrey Leon Battle is also serving an eighteen-year prison sentence. October Lewis was sentenced to three years in a federal prison camp. Muhammad Bilal received eight years, and Ahmed Bilal received ten years. Maher "Mike" Hawash was sentenced to seven years.

Ford's Trial and Sentencing

Ford's brother, Sekou Ford, wrote a letter supporting his brother. He believed that Patrice and his friends were unfairly blamed. He thought they were made examples of by a government task force.

The United States Department of Justice tried to stop Stanley Cohen from being Ford's lawyer. They claimed they had secret evidence that Cohen had supported certain groups. However, they said they could not share this evidence for national security reasons.

Plea Agreement Details

Stanley Cohen, Ford's lawyer, said the plea deal was "one of the worst pleas I've ever taken." He felt it was part of the government's need to find "bad guys" to explain their actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the U.S. attorney who handled the case, Charles Gorder, disagreed. He stated that these individuals were "terrorists and traitors," not just political targets.

Sentencing Decision

At Ford's sentencing, Judge Robert E. Jones said he believed Ford would have tried to harm an American in Afghanistan. The judge told Ford, "You do not represent the Muslim faith. You are an insult to the Muslim faith." Ford and his lawyers now say he only wanted to go to Afghanistan to help in refugee camps.

Release

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, Patrice Lumumba Ford was released from prison in 2018.