Community Corner

Al-Qaeda Leader from Winchester at Large

Osama bin Laden is dead, but the organization's spokesperson – who lived on a farm near Temecula – is still at large.

Though Osama bin Laden was killed tonight, his spokesperson – who grew up near Temecula – was still at large.

Adam Gadahn, 32, lived on a goat farm in Winchester before moving overseas and becoming a spokesperson for Al Qaeda.

He was still on the FBI's Most Wanted list as of this evening.

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The Justice Department offered a $1 million reward for his capture. Click here to see the department's offer.

Gadahn made news when he released videos after 9-11 praising Al-Quada’s members and scorning the U.S., which he called “enemy soil” in one video.

Find out what's happening in Temeculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He was one of Al-Qaeda’s highest-ranking officials, and praised highly – even affectionately – by the organization’s leaders in videos. They called him “Azzam al-Amriki,” or, “Adam the American.”

Bin Laden was killed today in a gun battle during a U.S.-lead strike in Pakistan. "Over the years, I’ve repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was,"said President Barack Obama during an address tonight. "That is what we’ve done."

It was unavailable tonight whether Gadahn was present during the battle. Gadahn is wanted for treason, and he’s the first American to face this charge in more than 50 years, according to the Justice Department.

In the years following his emergence as an Al-Quada leader, his parents declined to talk to media. Other neighbors, friends and acquaintances stepped forward about how shocked they were.

He grew up with his parents and three siblings in Winchester, where his parents, Seth and Jennifer Gadahn, moved after college.

His father, born Phil Pearlman, was the guitarist in the band “The Beat of the Earth” and the editor of U.C. Irvine’s school newspaper during the late 1960s. He later converted from Judaism to Christianity and changed his name to Seth Gadahn, a reference to the biblical hero Gideon.

The couple home schooled Adam Gadahn and his siblings. In his teen years, Gadahn grew fascinated by an extreme, demonic style of music called death metal. He formed a one-man band called Aphasia and wrote articles for Xenocide, a death metal fan ‘zine, recalled Jon Konrath, the magazine’s editor in an email interview.

His parents sent him to live with his grandfather, Carl K. Pearlman, in Santa Ana around this time. While in Orange County, Gadahn studied Islam at a mosque in Garden Grove, converted to the religion and befriended fundamentalists.

The U.S. Justice Department announced they arrested Gadahn in Pakistan in March 2010, but hours later retracted the announcement, citing a case of mistaken identity.

City News Service contributed to this report.


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