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It's Official: Fitzgibbons To Defend Mohamed

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 24, 2007

Updated: 10/24/2007 02:03 pm

Special Report: USF Students Indicted

TAMPA - Lawyer John Fitzgibbons notified a judge this morning that he officially is representing a University of South Florida student accused of helping terrorists.

Fitzgibbons also notified the court that his client, Ahmed Mohamed, is pleading not guilty to charges of illegally transporting explosives and trying to help terrorists by teaching or demonstrating the use of explosives. Mohamed waived his right to an arraignment, entering the plea by mail.

John Fitzgibbons

The high-profile lawyer's clients have included a teacher who had sex with a student, an "American Idol" contestant involved in a dispute at Hyde Park Café and a restaurant owner who used a vehicle to fatally run down a man he said had robbed him.

Now he is adding to that roster Ahmed Mohamed, an Egyptian national arrested in South Carolina on Aug. 4 along with another USF student, Youssef Megahed, and charged with having explosives in their trunk.

Authorities say Mohamed also made and posted a video to the Web site YouTube in which he showed how to use a remote-control toy device to detonate a bomb.

Fitzgibbons appeared in court on Oct. 3 and told a federal judge he was negotiating with the Egyptian government to represent Mohamed, whose father is a government official who oversees Cairo's subway system. But Fitzgibbons said arrangements had not been finalized, and he sought and obtained two delays for scheduled arraignments.

Mohamed's next arraignment was to be Thursday, but it will not be held because of the entry of the written not-guilty plea.

U.S. Magistrate Mark Pizzo also posted an order today scheduling a trial in the case for Dec. 3 before District Judge Steven D. Merryday.

Pizzo has said in court before that the trial would be set for Merryday's December trial calendar, but Fitzgibbons told reporters that a December trial is unlikely because of the large amount of evidence that needs to be exchanged and reviewed.

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