Watch: How a former extremist became a counterterrorism analyst

Federal prosecutors once regarded Jesse Curtis Morton as a threat to national security.

The FBI said the pro-jihadist website he helped found, RevolutionMuslim.com, inspired a number of terrorist plots. On that website, militant training videos, bomb-making instructions, praise for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and chat rooms for discussions among members created a multi-media stew of toxic content, they said.

In 2012, Morton was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for his role in running the site.

Now, just four years later, Morton is free and has been hired as a terrorism analyst at a George Washington University-based think tank.

In a broadcast-exclusive interview airing Monday, PBS NewsHour Weekend anchor Hari Sreenivasan talks with Morton about how this former extremist went from being wanted by the FBI to sought out by some of the top counterterrorism analysts in Washington.

 

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