After a contentious interview with Bill O'Reilly on '' The O'Reilly Factor '' following the September 11 attacks , Al-Arian 's tenure at University of South Florida came under public scrutiny . He was indicted in February 2003 on 17 counts under the Patriot Act . A jury acquitted him on 8 counts and deadlocked on the remaining 9 counts . He later struck a plea bargain and admitted to one of the remaining charges in exchange for being released and deported by April 2007 . However , as his release date approached , a federal prosecutor in Virginia demanded he testify before a grand jury in a separate case , which he refused to do , claiming it would violate his plea deal . He was held under house arrest in Northern Virginia from 2008 until 2014 when federal prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss charges against him
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Sami Al-Arian