Skip to main content /US
CNN.com /US
SERVICES
CNN TV
EDITIONS


Two arraigned on false ID charges involving hijackers

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- A U.S. District judge on Wednesday ordered held without bond a man who allegedly helped suicide hijackers obtain bogus Virginia driver's licenses.

A woman who served as notary public for the applications was released under tight restrictions and $25,000 bond.

Attack on America
 CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT
 CNN NewsPass Video 
Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998
 MORE STORIES
Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects
Report cites warnings before 9/11
 EXTRA INFORMATION
Timeline: Who Knew What and When?
Interactive: Terror Investigation
Terror Warnings System
Most wanted terrorists
What looks suspicious?
In-Depth: America Remembers
In-Depth: Terror on Tape
In-Depth: How prepared is your city?
 RESOURCES
On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands?
On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

Luis Martinez-Flores, an immigrant from El Salvador, will stand trial on a charge of identity fraud for allegedly helping Saudi Arabian nationals Hani Hanjour and Khalid Almihdhar obtain drivers licenses just six weeks before the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Hanjour and Almihdhar are believed to be among those who hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 after it took off from Washington Dulles International Airport and crashed it into the Pentagon.

Court papers say Martinez-Flores certified that the two men lived at an address where he once lived in Falls Church, a Virginia suburb south of Washington. The FBI has said Martinez-Flores admitted vouching for the two Saudis, but said he apparently did so without knowledge of their intentions.

The government claims Martinez-Flores has been in the United States illegally since 1994.

Kenys Galicia, a legal secretary and notary, is charged with notarizing documents for suspected hijackers Abdul Aziz Al Omari and Ahmed Saleh Al Ghamdi. She was released on conditions that include wearing an electronic monitor to showing her whereabouts.

"They apparently had no idea they were dealing with terrorists," said a federal law enforcement official familiar with the case.

Al Omari was aboard American Airlines Flight 11 and Al Ghamdi was on United Airlines Flight 175. Both flights were hijacked after takeoff from Boston and crashed into the World Trade Center.

-- CNN Justice Department Producer Terry Frieden contributed to this report.



 
 
 
 



RELATED SITES:
See related sites about US
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

U.S. TOP STORIES:

 Search   

Back to the top