The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, apparently paid the entire college tuition for an American-born student who eventually became an al Qaeda terrorist, Fox News reported.
Anwar al-Awlaki’s tuition to Colorado State University was paid for by the federal agency that has made national headlines in recent weeks after examples of waste, fraud and abuse were discovered as part of its $40 billion annual budget by DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency.
Pictures of a document showing USAID funded al-Awlaki’s tuition went viral in recent days on social media, Fox News reported.
“The document, which investigative reporters unearthed and posted to X over the weekend, shows that a USAID form dated June 1990 outlined al-Awlaki was reportedly granted funding to attend the college by fraudulently claiming he was a Yemeni national and qualified for an exchange visa,” the outlet reported.
After he graduated college, he became “a central figure of al Qaeda, including having direct contact with Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan before he opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, killing 13 people, U.S. officials reported at the time.”
Investigative reporter Catherine Herridge posted on X: “STUNNING: Looks like USAID supported college tuition for Anwar Aulaqi (Awlaki) who later became a high level al Qaeda terrorist.”
“Aulaqi falsely claimed he was born in Yemen to secure the financial help via the State Dept. when he was actually a US citizen, born in Las Cruces New Mexico,” she continued. “Aulaqi would later develop close ties with several 9/11 hijackers and attain leadership status in AQ’s Yemen affiliate.”
“Aulaqi was the godfather of the digital jihad that leveraged his writings and the web to radicalize Americans to AQ’s cause. Aulaqi became the first American targeted for death by the CIA. In 2011, he was killed in a US drone strike.”
STUNNING:
Looks like USAID supported college tuition for Anwar Aulaqi (Awlaki) who later became a high level al Qaeda terrorist.
Aulaqi falsely claimed he was born in Yemen to secure the financial help via the State Dept. when he was actually a US citizen, born in Las Cruces… https://t.co/jW3yHS81F1
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) February 9, 2025
According to Britannica, al-Awlaki was one “of the United States’ most-wanted terrorists, Awlaki was directly linked to multiple terrorism plots in the United States and United Kingdom, including an attempt in December 2009 to blow up a jetliner bound for Detroit.”
“He had morphed from a mainstream Muslim into one of al-Qaeda’s most public personalities and influential voices in large part because of his numerous online sermons and propaganda videos that allowed him to spread his message around the world.”
An editorial in the New York Post argued this example is another nail in the coffin of USAID:
“How did Awlaki, a US citizen, get this plum grant [full college tuition paid for by the U.S. taxpayers]? By lying about his birthplace and saying he was from Yemen! You’d think that the “experts” in charge of handing out USAID’s big bucks might have, you know, demanded some proof.
But they didn’t — a classic example of liberal racism, by the way: Someone with a furrin’-soundin’ name like “Awlaki” couldn’t possibly be American. And so this radical-in-waiting committed an easily detectable fraud and stole a bunch of money from hardworking taxpayers, then grew up to become a murderous America-hater.
MORE: Northwestern professor thanks Yemeni terrorism supporter
IMAGE: X screenshot
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