FBI arrests New Mexico compound members
TAOS, N.M. (Reuters) - Five residents of a compound in Amalia, New Mexico, were arrested on Friday on charges of violating federal firearms and conspiracy laws, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
FILE PHOTO: Defendant Jany Leveille (L to R) sits next to her defense lawyer Kelly Golightley, defendant Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and his defense lawyer Tom Clark at hearing in Taos County District Court in Taos County, New Mexico, U.S., August 29, 2018. Eddie Moore/Pool via REUTERS
Jany Leveille, 35, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, Hujrah Wahhaj, 37, Subhanah Wahhaj, 35, and Lucas Morton, 40, were charged in criminal complaints filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, the FBI said in a statement.
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The arrests and new charges came two days after two New Mexico judges dismissed child abuse charges against all five defendants and allowed three of them to be released from jail.
The criminal complaint charges Leveille, a Haitian national, with being in the United States illegally and unlawfully in possession of firearms and ammunition in New Mexico from November 2017 through August 2018.
The complaint charges the other four defendants with aiding and abetting Leveille in committing the offense and with conspiring with Leveille to commit the offense.
Lawyers for the five defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reporting by Keith Coffman writing by Andrew Hay; editing by Toni Reinhold and Cynthia Osterman
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