Texan Barry Bujol, who converted to Islam and sought repeatedly to travel to the Middle East, was convicted of trying to aid al-Qaida terrorists and using a fake identification card to sneak into the Port of Houston.

Bujol, who authorities said they feared could have been another "American Taliban," is scheduled to be sentenced in February and could get 20 years in prison without parole.

As U.S. District Judge David Hittner announced the verdict Monday at the federal courthouse in downtown Houston, a shackled Bujol sat silently. He represented himself and requested that Hittner, rather than a jury, render the verdict.

During Bujol's trial, prosecutors used secret recordings and the testimony of an informant to show Bujol not only sought to join al-Qaida but also deliver supplies, such as compasses, GPS trackers and cellular-phone equipment.

Prosecutors made comparisons to John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban" who was captured on a battlefield in Afghanistan. They also pointed to Colleen LaRose, an American who called herself "Jihad Jane," and pleaded guilty earlier this year to terror-related charges.

Bujol has said he was trying to go to the Middle East to learn Arabic and teach English and that he'd never sought to harm any American.

Bujol, who is originally from Louisiana, was studying at Prairie View A&M University when federal agents began watching him on campus about three years ago and reviewing his email from the library.

An FBI SWAT team arrested Bujol in May 2010 after he sneaked aboard a ship that he thought would take him toward the Middle East.

Email exchanges

Bujol, who admittedly held extreme ideas, never met anyone from al-Qaida. The closest he came was an email exchange with Anwar al-Awlaki, a now-deceased sheik who was an American and a fiery supporter of al-Qaida.

Al-Awlaki had a website where he encouraged people to contact him. In an email seized by agents, Bujol wrote that he was looking for a way to do his part. Al-Awlaki, or someone acting on his behalf, sent a list of dozens of ways he could support jihad.

Although Bujol wrote to him again, there was no evidence presented at trial that the sheik again responded or showed further interest.

The FBI used an undercover informant - a civilian posing as an al-Qaida recruiter - to make its case. In numerous recorded conversations, including one when Bujol was being driven to the port, the men spoke in code words about joining a holy war to fight the United States.

If the courtroom was his battlefield, Bujol was soundly defeated by his own words.

"I may never again see this place, and that is fine with me," Bujol says in another of the conversations. "Preparing yourself to live with the brothers, fight with the brothers, die with the brothers is the ultimate preparation."

In one he's nearly looking directly at a hidden camera as he discusses concerns about people set up by the government and sent to prison.

Bujol left a goodbye note to his wife on a computer seized by federal agents. In the message were images such as a photo of the late Osama bin Laden, founder of al-Qaida, with the Arabic word jihad, which can in some instances be translated as holy war.

Bujol saw going to the Middle East and taking part in jihad as his religious duty, his way to heaven.

"I did have radical Islamic views, and I was interested in leaving the United States of America," Bujol said during his trial. "My desire was not to harm the U.S. or U.S. nationals here or abroad, but to express my discontent and displeasure with (how my tax dollars are being spent)."

Seen as deterrent

Following the conviction, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson called it a victory.

"The prosecution of this case and its result should serve as a deterrent and sends a clear message to anyone contemplating the illegal support of terrorist organizations," he said in a statement. "This office will continue to vigorously pursue all cases involving those who attempt to engage in similar illegal activities."

dane.schiller@chron.com