Philadelphia: Muslim Cop-Shooter who Pledged Allegiance to ISIS Visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia

The Philly jihadi said over and over again: “I follow Allah. I pledge my allegiance to the Islamic State and that’s why I did what I did.”

We are now learning the Philly jihadi traveled to Saudi Arabia in late 2011 and to Egypt in 2012. The several months he spent in Egypt were during the reign of the notorious terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group.

His mother said her son is a devout Muslim who has practiced the faith for some time.

But the Mayor of Philadelphia insists this has nothing to do with Islam, the world-renowned Islamic scholar that he is (/sarc tag off).

Who is paying this Mayor? Who funded his campaign? What do they have on this sniveling lapdog?

The terrorist group CAIR, who provides cover for jihad murderers, has declared that Mr. Archer, an Islamic convert who investigators believe had traveled to Saudi Arabia and Egypt in recent years, was not a practicing Muslim. Archer was wearing Islamic attire when he attempted to execute a uniformed officer in cold blood. “At this hour, it does not appear that he was an observant or mosque-going Muslim,” CAIR’s House Kapo Jacob Bender told Reuters on Friday. “I’ve called numerous imams and mosques to try to see if the name rings a bell with anyone. So far it hasn’t,” he said. Bender neglected to mention that the mosques behind jihadi terror attacks lie to cover their involvement. The Islamic Community Center mosque in Phoenix, Arizona lied about the Garland, Texas jihadis. The Dar al Uloom al Islamiyyah mosque lied about the San Bernardino jihadi. The Islamic Society of Boston mosque lied about the Boston Muslim bombers. The Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City mosque lied about jihadi who beheaded co-worker, Colleen Hufford.

The White House had “no comment” on yet another Islamic attack on the homeland.

In what instance, other than Islam, is the declared motive of the criminal ever denied or questioned? If Archer had said he was an admirer of Hitler, would anyone dispute it? How about KKK? Would that have been challenged? Only Islam — that is sharia in America.

“Suspect in Philadelphia Police Shooting Had Visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia,” Wall Street Journal, January 9, 2015

Authorities try to determine if man has terrorist connections and whether his overseas travel is significant to investigation

The man arrested for allegedly shooting a Philadelphia police officer three times in a late-night ambush traveled to Saudi Arabia in late 2011 and to Egypt in 2012, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Investigators are still trying to determine if the 30-year-old man, Edward Archer, had any connections to foreign terror suspects and whether his overseas travel is of any significance to the investigation of the shooting, the person said.

The Philadelphia Police Department is leading the investigation, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The person familiar with the situation said Mr. Archer traveled to Saudi Arabia for a couple of weeks in October-November of 2011. The following year, he spent several months in Egypt. It wasn’t immediately clear why he traveled to those countries.

Police officials on Friday said Mr. Archer told detectives he was inspired by the Islamic State extremist group. Police Commissioner Richard Ross, however, had said that day that he didn’t know if the suspect had any connection to the group or acted alone.
A Philadelphia Police Department photo of shooting suspect Edward Archer ENLARGE
A Philadelphia Police Department photo of shooting suspect Edward Archer Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

On Saturday, prosecutors said Mr. Archer was charged with attempted murder. He is being held without bail, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 25, according to online court records.

In addition to the attempted murder count, Mr. Archer also faces charges of aggravated assault, aggravated assault on a police officer and several gun-related offenses.

Mr. Archer, 30 years old, allegedly opened fire on Officer Jesse Hartnett’s cruiser at a West Philadelphia intersection late Thursday, firing about 11 shots and hitting the officer in his left arm three times. Mr. Hartnett returned fire and hit Mr. Archer in the buttocks, police said. The officer, 33, underwent surgery. On Saturday, Mr. Hartnett remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition, police said.

Mr. Archer has a criminal history including a forgery conviction. He previously had pleaded guilty in Philadelphia to carrying an unlicensed gun and to simple assault, court records show.

Court records show Mr. Archer is represented by the Defenders Association of Philadelphia, which provides legal services to indigent criminal defendants. No one from the association could be reached on Saturday.

But Doug Dolfman, a lawyer who briefly represented Mr. Archer in spring 2013, described his former client as “a strange character, very impulsive.”

“He was a very high-pressure kind of client for the four weeks I had him,” Mr. Dolfman said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “He was in your face when you met him. I remember him distinctly. He needed this done now—how fast can you get this done?” Mr. Dolfman said.

Mr. Archer had said he had visited Egypt in 2012, but he didn’t say why he went there or how long he stayed, Mr. Dolfman said.

When Mr. Archer came back from Egypt, he was arrested in New York, the lawyer said, because there was a warrant for his arrest stemming from the assault case. Mr. Dolfman said Mr. Archer spent several months jailed in New York and was then extradited to Philadelphia, at which point he hired Mr. Dolfman as his lawyer.

Mr. Archer spoke of his Muslim faith, according to Mr. Dolfman, who said he stopped representing Mr. Archer after helping to reduce his bail. Mr. Archer’s mother told Mr. Dolfman that her son had worked as a security guard and attended a nearby university, the lawyer said.
Related Reading

Mr. Archer’s mother, Valerie Holliday, told the Philadelphia Inquirer her son suffered head injuries years ago in a moped accident and while playing football. She said he had been “hearing voices in his head” and thought police were targeting him, the Inquirer reported. The newspaper said she asked him to seek medical help.

Ms. Holliday couldn’t be reached for comment.

Police arrested Mr. Archer shortly after the shooting and recovered a 9mm pistol they believe was used in the incident. The gun was reported stolen in 2013 from the home of a police officer, Commissioner Ross said. He said he didn’t know how Mr. Archer obtained the gun.

Officials with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security were working with Philadelphia police to execute search warrants at residences in Southwest Philadelphia and Upper Darby, Pa., a police official said.