Colo. mom says daughter held in Ireland in alleged terror plot against Swedish cartoonist

Mom says daughter held in Ireland in terror plot

DENVER — Jamie Paulin-Ramirez was a straight-A nursing student when she abruptly left Colorado last fall with her 6-year-old son and turned up in Ireland, where her parents say she was arrested this week in an alleged plot to assassinate a Swedish cartoonist.

Christine Mott of Leadville told The Associated Press that she was told of the arrest of her 31-year-old daughter in the case by the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies.

She said that Jamie Paulin-Ramirez told her family after she left last September that she went to Ireland with her 6-year-old son and married an Algerian whom she met online.

Irish authorities this week announced the arrest of seven Muslims in the alleged plot, only identifying them as three Algerians, a Libyan, a Palestinian, a Croatian and an American woman married to one of the Algerians.

They were arrested Tuesday, hours before U.S. authorities unveiled a terror indictment against Colleen LaRose, 46, of Philadelphia, who bills herself as “Jihad Jane.”

LaRose is accused of plotting with others to kill Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks because of his 2007 sketch depicting the head of the Muslim prophet Muhammad on a dog’s body. The drawing provoked terror front Al-Qaida in Iraq to offer a $100,000 bounty for his slaying.

But on Saturday Irish police said that three of those arrested had been released without charges, while three other men and an American woman remain in custody.

Denver FBI officials say they can’t confirm that the FBI had contacted Mott about the case. The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately return a call for comment early Saturday. Irish police refused to confirm whether Paulin-Ramirez is the woman in custody, and have declined to release the identities of any of those arrested.

The Wall Street Journal, quoting anonymous sources familiar with the case, reported on its Web site that Paulin-Ramirez was being held in the alleged plot.

Christine Mott said she’s concerned for the welfare of her grandson, who has been placed in the custody of Ireland’s foster care system.

“This is about my baby,” Christine Mott said. “We need some help to get this baby back. I’m concerned about my daughter but I’m concerned about our baby boy because he shouldn’t be caught in the middle of this.”

The Motts said Paulin-Ramirez announced to her family last spring that she was converting to Islam and began wearing headscarves, and later a hijab.

“It came out of left field,” Christine Mott said. “I knew she was talking to these people online… What caused her to turn her back on her country, on her family and become this person? I don’t know how or why. All I know is she was in contact with this Jihad Jane.

“The only thing I could think of is that they brainwashed her.”

Irish police say LaRose visited Ireland in September and spent about two weeks with the Algerian-American couple and other suspects. Investigators believe she began communicating last year with the Irish-based suspects in member-only Internet chat rooms.

Her stepfather, George Mott, said the FBI seized a desktop computer in late September but did not tell the family what they found.

Christine Mott said her daughter was getting 4.0 grades as she studied to become a nurse practitioner and was working a $30,000 job at Eagle Valley Medical Clinic in nearby Edwards.

The Motts said Paulin-Ramirez began to withdraw and argue with her parents about her religion in the months after announcing her conversion.