Defendant in Taos County terrorism case found incompetent for trial
One of the defendants in a terrorism case out of Taos County has been deemed incompetent to stand trial.
Lucas Morton, 42, will now undergo treatment to attempt to gain competency, according to court documents.
Morton and four others — Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, Subhanah Wahhaj, Hujrah Wahhaj and Jany Leveille — are charged in federal court with conspiracy to murder an officer or employee of the United States, providing material support to terrorists, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and other charges.
The defendants were arrested in August 2018 while living with their 11 children, ages 1 through 15, in a makeshift compound in Amalia, near the Colorado border. The remains of 3-year-old Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj’s son, were later found on the property.
The group is accused of gathering weapons and ammunition and using the compound to train the children to carry out terrorist attacks on educational, governmental and law enforcement institutions.
According to an order filed last week by federal Judge William P. Johnson, Morton’s attorneys filed a motion in January to determine Morton’s competency. In February, the motion was granted and Morton was referred to the Bureau of Prisons for a competency evaluation.
In May Dr. Jessica Micono filed a report that says Morton suffers from
a disorder that “significantly impairs his present ability to understand the nature and consequences of the court proceedings against him,” and determined he was incompetent to stand trial, the order says.
Micono recommended that Morton be committed to a federal medical center for restoration of competence and that his prognosis for restoration “appears to be positive.”
“Therefore, the Court hereby finds Defendant Lucas Morton incompetent and (is) committing him to the custody of the Attorney General for placement in a suitable facility,” Johnson wrote.
The order says the U.S. attorney does not object to Micono’s findings.
The five adults were initially charged with child abuse in state court after children at the compound were found to be malnourished. The charges were dismissed after Taos County prosecutors missed court deadlines. The defendants were later indicted on federal firearms charges in September 2018 and on terrorism charges in March 2019.
Abdul-Ghani reportedly suffered from hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, a condition that caused severe seizures, and was not given his medication.
The children told federal agents that AbdulGhani would be resurrected as Jesus and would identify the institutions to attack.