An extremist’s path to academia -- and fighting terrorism
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Jesse Curtis Morton begins work as a counterterrorism researcher at George Washington University this fall. But his path to the position was highly unconventional: until 2012, Morton was Younus Abdullah Muhammad, a Muslim extremist who founded a radical Islamist website. His decision to go undercover and assist in counterterrorism efforts while in prison changed his trajectory profoundly.

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-Qaida 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.