Laguna Hills Woman Indicted Over Terrorist Threats That Were Made on Hawaiian Cruise

A federal grand jury in Hawaii indicted a 20-year-old Laguna Hills woman Wednesday on two counts of making a terrorist threat, alleging she wrote anonymous letters in a failed attempt to halt a Hawaiian cruise.

Kelley Marie Ferguson, who is being held without bail in the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu, is expected to be arraigned Monday, federal officials said.

Ferguson was arrested April 25, three days after the first letter was discovered in a women’s bathroom aboard the Legend of the Seas cruise ship.

According to court records, Ferguson told investigators she did not want to be on the cruise with her parents and three older sisters. She hoped the letters would force the ship to return to its Ensenada launch point, allowing her to reunite with her boyfriend in Orange County, authorities said.

If convicted, Ferguson faces up to 10 years in prison on each count. Assistant U.S. Atty. Ken Sorenson has said the statutes under which Ferguson was indicted neither allow for probation nor set a minimum sentence.