in the Dominican Republic and came to the US with his family when he was five. He is a naturalized citizen, with joint U.S.-Dominican citizenship. He was 24 years old at the time of his arrest, and lived in Elmwood Park, New Jersey. He had graduated from Elmwood Park Memorial High School in 2005. While in high school, he was arrested in 2004 both for aggravated assault, and for weapons possession. After growing up as a Christian, Almonte converted to Islam in 2004 (against the wishes of his father), and visited mosques in Paterson, and Union City, New Jersey. He renamed himself "Omar", and met Alessa in 2005. In March 2007, the FBI conducted a consensual search of his computer, which contained documents advocating jihad. His father was so disgusted with his son Carlos that he did not go to Almonte's hearing, saying: "I'm not supporting anybody that does something wrong." "Death to all Juice" Almonte had posted a photo on his Facebook page, holding a large placard that read, "Death to all Juice"(sic), which he displayed at the 2008 Israel Day Parade in New York City. At the time of its public release, the photo sparked a debate over whether the man was an illiterate anti-Semite, or a pro-Israel plant trying to make the protesters appear to be illiterate anti-Semites. A supervisor at a New Jersey computer shop at which Almonte worked for more than a year said: "I'm telling you, this kid is not smart." Pamela Hall, a NYC blogger, took a picture of Carlos Almonte on December 28, 2008, outside the Israeli Consulate in NYC. It was at the end of an anti-Israel protest march that started at Fifth Avenue and 50th street. Collective activities The two lived apart in New Jersey. They had been under FBI scrutiny since October 2006, when Alessa was still a teenager. A New York Police Department undercover officer recorded their discussions of their plans at a number of meetings. The two reportedly traveled to Jordan in February 2007, where they tried without success to enter Iraq. According to Almonte, they tried unsuccessfully to become mujahedeen to fight against U.S. troops, and were "upset with the individuals who failed to recruit them". According to the criminal complaint, they had practiced simulated combat at an outdoor paintball facility in West Milford, New Jersey. They had also engaged in tactical training, trained in hand-to-hand