Three North Carolina men are headed to federal prison for their involvement in a terror plot.
The three were sentenced today at federal court in New Bern.
The feds say Hysen Sherifi, Ziyad Yaghi and Omar Hassan plotted attacks on the U.S. Marine Corps base at Quantico and foreign targets. They were convicted after a month-long trial that started around the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
A judge sentenced Sherifi to 45 years in prison, Yaghi to 31 1/2 years, and Hassan to 15 years. All three will face probation terms after their release.
Judge Louise Flanagan said her court received many letters from people who wanted to be heard before sentencing in support of one or all of the men. Their convictions have stirred the Muslim community in the Raleigh area where they lived.
Hassan, Yaghi and Sherifi were among eight men who investigators say raised money, stockpiled weapons and trained in preparation for jihadist attacks against those they deemed enemies of Islam.
