RFP Staff
♦ Donald Morgan, 44, ISIS terrorist sympathizer from Rowan County and founder of the Islamic Center of Salisbury near Salisbury High School, plead not guilty this morning to weapons charges in a Federal Court in Greensboro, N.C. He is expected back in federal court on October 10th in Winston-Salem.
Morgan was arrested on August 2nd after landing at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on a flight from Frankfurt, Germany.
Morgan, charged in North Carolina with illegal weapons possession, was previously involved in weapons trafficking a violation of his probation for a previous felony conviction. A grand jury with the Middle District of North Carolina on May 27th returned a one-count indictment charging Morgan with a firearm possession after being previously convicted of a felony. In 2012 Morgan was charged for allegedly selling an AK-47 from the Carolina Shooters Club website.
Federal officials said Morgan’s internet activities include Twitter postings supporting the ISIS terrorist network drew Federal attention.
Morgan’s first court appearance was on August 4th where prosecutors opposed bail, citing concerns about Morgan’s about his possible ISIS involvement.
Elsewhere a public defender assigned to Morgan claimed no evidence existed that Morgan tried to support ISIS.
Morgan has had various scrapes with the law and spent two years in prison for shooting up Las Palmas Restaurant on what’s now called Brick Street.
Morgan appears to have a spotty work record, being fired from the Sheriff’s Office and the East Spencer Police. He did a brief stint working for a car dealership and a heating company. Between 1991 and 1996 Morgan was arrested four times. His most famous crime was shooting up Las Palmas with a Glock. In 1997 he was convicted of the Las Palmas episode for carrying a concealed weapon and firing into an occupied dwelling. Immediately after his conviction Morgan threatened the District Attorney and had to be restrained.
