Ohio Terror-Plotter Gets Court OK to Swear by God Who Fueled Crime — Allah

An Akron, Ohio, man, Terrence McNeil, age 24, was given the court OK to swear by the very same god that fueled his confessed terror plots — Allah.

McNeil, this week, pleaded guilty to terrorism related charges. And as part of his plea, he agreed to serve between 15 and 20 years in federal prison.

But during his court appearance, when asked to take the oath, McNeil said he could’t swear by God — only by Allah. And the judge’s response? OK

From Cleveland.com:

“Terrence McNeil, 24, is accused of posting files on his social-media pages in 2015 that contained the names and addresses of people believed to be members of the military. Included in the files were messages encouraging others to kill those people, according to the FBI.

“He did all this to support of the Islamic State, a terrorist group also known as ISIS or ISIL, prosecutors said.

“McNeil entered into an agreement in which he has agreed to serve between 15 and 20 years in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to five counts of solicitation to commit a crime of violence and five counts of making threatening interstate communications.

“If U.S. District Judge Dan Polster accepts the plea agreement, he must sentence McNeil within that range. The judge will sentence McNeil on Aug. 2….

“When Polster asked McNeil during Tuesday’s plea hearing to raise his right hand swear that the testimony he was going to give was the truth, McNeil said he could not do so, according to a recounting of the hearing.

“‘I only swear by Allah,’ McNeil said, according to the recounting.

“‘Well, I’m not asking you swear under any God, alright? If you want to swear under Allah, you can do that. I didn’t put it in that form, but if you’d like to take the oath in that form, that’s OK,’ Polster replied, according to the recounting.

“The judge then asked if he swore ‘under Allah,’ and McNeil said ‘sure,’ according to the recounting.”