Gadahn, Adam Yahiye (1978–)

Adam Yahiye Gadahn, a U.S. citizen, was indicted in California on charges of treason, accused of providing “aid and comfort” to al Qaeda. He is the first person to be charged with treason against the United States since the World War II era.

Gadahn—also known as Azzam al Amriki and Azzam the American, among other aliases—was born Adam Pearlman on September 1, 1978, to parents of Jewish and Catholic heritage. He was raised in rural Riverside County, California, on a family farm. In the mid-1990s, Gadahn moved to Santa Ana in Orange County, California, to live with his grandparents. At the age of 17, he converted to Islam while studying at the Islamic Society of Orange County, located in Garden Grove, California. he describe his conversion in an essay titled “Becoming Muslim,” which he posted on the website of the University of Southern California.

According to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reporting, Gadahn moved to Pakistan in 1998 and attended al Qaeda terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. He has since become known as a propagandist for the terrorist organization. In 2004 Gadahn was one of seven individuals singled out by the FBI director and the U.S. attorney general as posing a danger to U.S. interests around the world. In October 2005 a grand jury in Santa Ana, California, indicted Gadahn for his alleged involvement in terrorist activities, including making a series of propaganda videos for al Qaeda. From 2004 through 2010, at least a dozen videos have appeared in which Gadahn speaks in support of al Qaeda and promotes jihad against the United States and the West. The charges filed in the Central District of California state that Gadahn “gave al Qaeda aid and comfort … with intent to betray the United States.”

According to the indictment, on September 2, 2006, al Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al Zawahiri, introduced Gadahn as “our brother Azzam the American” and urged Americans to listen to Gadahn. As one of al Qaeda's principal spokesmen, Gadahn's messages have been targeted toward gaining the support of English-speaking audiences in the United States and abroad. On October 11, 2006, the FBI added Gadahn to its Most Wanted Terrorists list, and the U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to his arrest.