Maher Mofeid " Mike " Hawash is a Palestinian-born American engineer who was convicted and sentenced to a seven-year prison sentence in 2003 for conspiring to aid the Taliban in fighting against U.S. forces and their allies in Afghanistan . Six weeks after 9/11 , Hawash secretly traveled to China with a group of Portland-area Muslims , dubbed the Portland Seven , with the intent of entering Afghanistan to aid the Taliban . Hawash and his fellow conspirators were unable to reach Afghanistan due to visa problems , according to federal authorities , Over a year later , after continuing to live and work near Portland , Hawash was arrested outside his office at Intel , setting off a heated debate about material witness arrest and detention and the USA PATRIOT Act , and galvanizing a movement to free Hawash . Hawash eventually pleaded guilty to conspiring to aid the Taliban in exchange for a reduced , seven-year sentence . He was released from prison in early 2009
9/11
September 11 attacks
Mike Hawash