406: Tom Ropel – American Al Qaeda Member, Adam Gadahn Indicted for Treason

In this episode, retired agent Tom Ropel reviews his fugitive investigation of Adam Gadahn, who was indicted in October 2004 for treason and was the first American indicted for treason since the 1950s. California-born Gadahn, who moved to Pakistan to join Al Qaeda, was also charged with providing aid and comfort to Al Qaeda and material support for terrorism for making propaganda videos supporting Al Qaeda. He threatened attacks on major U.S. cities, called 9/11 payback for American crimes, and encouraged Muslims in the West to kill Americans.

Gadahn died in a drone strike during a US government counterterrorism operation in April 2015. Ropel acknowledges the collaboration he and his FBI colleagues received from the Department of Defense (DOD) and the CIA, along with cooperation from foreign governments.

“What we cited in the indictment was some of his videos where he had discussed the streets of America will run red with blood. He praised the 9/11 raids on New York and Washington. He discussed jihad in America. He praised several of the other attacks around the world that Al-Qaeda had conducted, and he basically was trying to incite individuals to conduct further attacks.”—Retired Agent Tom Ropel

Special Agent (Retired)

Thomas Ropel

May 2002 – Aug 2023

Dr. Thomas Ropel, Ph.D., served in the FBI for 21 years. Before joining the FBI, Tom served in the Marine Corps as both an enlisted Marine and an officer. During his Bureau career, he focused on counterterrorism, assigned primarily to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and working both international and domestic terrorism investigations.

His first office was the Atlanta Division where he was on the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), working international terrorism matters and deploying throughout the Middle East to conduct interrogations, source operations, and terrorism investigations tied to FBI cases. He also deployed to Abu Dhabi in support of investigations related to the 9/11 attacks.

In 2006, after transferring to the Los Angeles Field Office, he continued his counterterrorism work with the Orange County Joint Terrorism Task Force, focusing on threats involving al-Qaeda, ISIS, Hamas, Al-Shabab, and other terrorist organizations. Over the course of his career, Tom was involved in several major investigations, including the Boston Marathon bombing, the San Bernardino terrorist attack, the Sri Lanka Easter bombings, the Aliso Viejo bombing, and the Las Vegas mass shooting. He also spent time in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, conducting interviews to support ongoing counterterrorism investigations.

Tom also served as a lead interrogator with the U.S. Government’s High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, where he conducted high-stakes intelligence interviews, trained law enforcement and intelligence professionals, and led complex counterterrorism investigations in more than 45 countries. In addition, he contributed to the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit and developed expertise in cross-cultural interviewing, rapport-based interrogation, and behavioral threat assessment.

He is now a criminal justice professor at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, CA, where he teaches criminal justice and terrorism-related courses, leads the Criminal Justice Program, and mentors students preparing for careers in law enforcement and government service. He also continues to train active law enforcement on Science-Based Interviewing (SBI). Tom earned his Ph.D. in International Psychology from The Chicago School in 2022.