Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Former Neighbor Of San Bernardino Gunman Indicted On Terrorism Charge

Enrique Marquez is pictured in a courtroom sketch on Dec. 17, the day he was charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. He was indicted on this and other charges on Wednesday.
Bill Robles
/
AP
Enrique Marquez is pictured in a courtroom sketch on Dec. 17, the day he was charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. He was indicted on this and other charges on Wednesday.

Enrique Marquez, a friend of one of the San Bernardino shooters, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiring to support a terrorist attack.

He was indicted Wednesday on charges of conspiring with the gunman, Syed Rizwan Farook, to provide material support — such as weapons and explosives — to terrorists in 2011 and 2012. No attacks were carried out then.

Marquez, 24, was also indicted on charges of making a false statement to investigators about the purchase of two assault rifles that Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, used to kill 14 people Dec. 2 at the Inland Regional Center in Riverside, Calif., according to the statement from the Justice Department. Both shooters were killed by police.

Earlier this month, Marquez was charged with providing the assault rifles to Farook; today he was formally indicted by the grand jury.

The indictment also charges Marquez with marriage fraud and making a false statement on immigration paperwork in connection with an alleged sham marriage with a member of Farook's family, the statement says.

"This indictment demonstrates that we will hold accountable all individuals who collaborate with terrorists in executing their plans," said U. S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.