Man convicted in ‘dirty bomb’ plot gets 4 years added to sentence

Jose Padilla, one of three men convicted in a plot to attack a major American city with a “dirty bomb,” will serve an additional four years in prison after a federal judge ruled Wednesday that the 17-year sentence he received for his initial terrorism conviction was too lenient.

U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke sentenced Padilla to 21 years in federal prison on Wednesday, a prison term four years longer than the one she initially handed down in 2007, authorities said.

A federal appeals court threw out Padilla’s sentence in 2011. He could have faced life in prison under the initial charges of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim individuals in a foreign country, federal officials said Wednesday.

Padilla was arrested in Chicago in 2002, and was originally suspected of plotting an act of domestic terrorism. Further investigation revealed the plan was not fully formed, but also showed Padilla had spent time training in an Al Qaeda camp.

In vacating Padilla’s sentence in 2011, a divided appeals court ruled Cooke initially overlooked Padilla’s extensive terrorism training at sentencing, as well as his violent criminal history in the United States. Padilla was once a member of the Latin Kings street gang, according to the Associated Press.

The 43-year-old was held for three years as an enemy combatant, and has attempted to sue the federal government before, claiming his rights as a U.S. citizen were violated because he was held in a military prison and subject to torture. Those claims have been thrown out repeatedly.

Padilla was originally scheduled to be released from prison in 2022, according to federal records.

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