RALEIGH, N.C. — Daniel Boyd may have spent the past three years traveling to the Middle East, secretly buying guns and training for jihad with a group of aspiring terrorists as federal authorities claim, but people on his cul-de-sac said Tuesday he also made plenty of time to be a good neighbor.
The 39-year-old drywall contractor and his wife were family-oriented, always quick to help and raised well-mannered kids, neighbors said a day after the FBI arrested Boyd and six others, accusing the men of planning to kidnap, kill and maim people abroad.
“If he’s a terrorist, he’s the nicest terrorist I ever met in my life,” said neighbor Charles Casale.
Investigators said Boyd was the ringleader of a small North Carolina-based terrorist group, including an eighth suspect believed to be in Pakistan, that was gearing up for a “violent jihad,” though prosecutors haven’t detailed any targets or timeframe.
Boyd’s wife, Sabrina, vowed that he was part of an “ordinary family” and urged the public not to rush to judgment. Boyd’s sons Zakariya, 20, and Dylan, 22, also were named in the indictment.
