From the Denver Post: A 29-year-old Moroccan man who believed he was working with al-Qaida was arrested Friday near the U.S. Capitol as he was planning to detonate what he thought was a suicide vest that undercover operatives gave him, officials said.
Amine El Khalifi of Alexandria, Va., was taken into custody with a gun that didn't work and inert explosives, according to a counterterrorism official. He arrived near the Capitol in a van with the two undercover operatives, and walked toward the building, according to court papers. He was arrested before he left the parking garage.
El Khalifi made a brief appearance on Friday afternoon in federal court in Alexandria, where a judge set a bail hearing for Wednesday. After his arrest, FBI agents raided a red brick rambler home in Arlington, Va. A police car blocked the entrance.
A criminal complaint charges him with knowingly and unlawfully attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property that is owned and used by the United States. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
El Khalifi, who was under constant surveillance, expressed interest in killing at least 30 people and considered targeting a building in Alexandria and a restaurant, synagogue and a place where military personnel gather in Washington before he settled on the Capitol after canvassing that area a couple of times, the counterterrorism official said. During the investigation, El Khalifi went with undercover operatives in January to a quarry in West Virginia to practice detonating explosives, according to court documents.
He believed he was working with an al-Qaida operative on the plot, according to an affidavit.http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-us-capitol-arrest,0,6605883.story
Good job by the FBI and shows once again that the Muslim religion is based on hate and murder than love and non-violence.
Further, this Muslim was an illegal immigrant but ICE or any other Federal agencies did not try and deport him.
Wow, another Muslim arrested for terrorism in the U.S.. I'm just glad that Catholics, Baptists, atheists and the Amish are not planning any terror attacks in the U.S. or the Muslims would lose their monopoly on terrorism in the U.S..
Jill, The Oklahoma bombing had nothing to do with religion, it was about politics. It also happened in 1995. I guess, if we went back to the Crusades, you may have a point, though.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Hutaree, they have not done any bombing and in fact, they have not even been tried and they were let out of jail in 2010 because the judge said they were not a danger to anybody. Basically, they talked big about harming the government but didn't do anything illegal.