The Case of Tarek Mehanna

The Justice Department has prosecuted many homegrown terror cases in the decade since 9/11. Authorities can convincingly argue they’ve stopped some would-be terrorists before they got a chance to hurt anyone. And that could be the situation with accused terrorist Tarek Mehanna. But Mehanna is a puzzling figure. He’s a 29-year-old American of Egyptian descent who grew up in a spacious suburban home outside of Boston. He has a PhD in pharmacy and was a diehard Nirvana fan as a teenager. He taught at a local mosque and supporters say he’s being targeted for his unpopular views. Prosecutors say Mehanna was the type of person who contemplated killing Americans at a local mall. Michael May of latitudenews.com spoke with Mehanna’s family and friends to try to answer the question: who is Tarek Mehanna?