Suicide bomb attempt in DC
The man, in his 30s and of Moroccan descent, was nabbed following a lengthy investigation by the FBI, initiated after he expressed interest in conducting an attack. It’s unclear how the FBI learned of his aspirations.
The man thought undercover FBI agents assisting him in his plot were associates of Al Qaeda.Shown here is the alley near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., where a man was arrested on his way, authorities said, to conduct what he thought was a suicide attack on the Capitol.
When he was arrested Friday in Washington, he was carrying with him a vest supposedly packed with explosives, but the material inside was not actually dangerous, Fox News was told.
February 17th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
Well, it is safer arresting somebody who has an inert backpack than somebody who might have one of the ‘slodey type.
When FBI has the local terrorist support groups so well infiltrated that they can pick the bad guys off this early, I’d say well done. Of course, there seem to be plenty of the more violent types still available overseas, so the CIA can get some credit before budget time, as well.
February 17th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
So was this an actual plot by a legit threat, or as has been the case more often than not with “terror plots” the .gov has broken up, was it some sad-sack dope that the government convinced and cajoled into joining some hopeless “plot” that they could then trumpet their success in stopping?
February 17th, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Someone set him up the bomb?
February 17th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
Off topic … SA … yer hosting service fellatates donkeys.
Seriously … if it is this slow all the time, then they are refusing to buy needed servers and gear.
February 17th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
I would have paid good money to be the first agent troll-facing my way up the alley as he frantically hit the clacker.
“Not working, is it? That’s what you get when you try to detonate Play-Doh.”
February 17th, 2012 at 3:06 pm
Yeah, there’s some issue with the server i’m on. Some other site is getting hit by a major news source. They’re working on it.
February 17th, 2012 at 3:09 pm
CTD: I believe it is the second scenario based on the reporting. LEO watching him for a year, no one in danger, thought he was buying from AQ directly.
He probably put something on facebook and feds started egging him on. Still a dangerous psycho if he ever found legitimate AQ.
February 17th, 2012 at 3:34 pm
I suspect this would have never been more than words without the encouragement of the feds. After all, why go after real bad guys that might actually kill you or make you late for dinner when you can just create a patsy as needed?
February 17th, 2012 at 4:53 pm
Happened in the parking garage of my office. I came in early today for a political fundraiser and noticed more cops (in particular more bike cops and cops in the ally) than normal but didn’t think anything of it other than it slowed me down 30 seconds or so.
Was on my way to leave for home just before lunch. Got off the elevator and the hallway and garage were packed with FBI agents and Cap Hill police. They told me to go back to my office and come back in a half hour.
As to whether it was a real threat: Yes, I suspect this ass planned to blow people up. However, Fridays are usually pretty quiet and there werent a lot of people on the hill. However, there is a restaurant in the building next to us (and the staff/kitchen entrance is across from the garage) that hosts a ton of political events. If he went in there he could have caused real carnage, very easily.
February 17th, 2012 at 5:22 pm
Attempt? Yes, really.
He really thought he was going to blow up, so it counts in every meaningful way.
Real danger, no, fortunately.
February 17th, 2012 at 5:28 pm
So… some poor schlub (sociopath though he may be) is set up from the very beginning and no one is ever in danger, and it’s a huge anti-terror victory… yet the Fort Hood Massacre goes into the record books as ‘Workplace Violence’ and as justification for more restrictions on civil liberties. Yep, I’m impressed.
February 17th, 2012 at 5:54 pm
Glad you were never in danger Countertop.
February 17th, 2012 at 7:33 pm
His vest was packed with copies of Obama’s budget, so it was an inert substance.
February 17th, 2012 at 8:02 pm
Conventional wisdom from the 60’s and 70’s:
“Yeah, pretty easy to spot the FBI infiltrator; he’s the one that’s always trying to get you to blow sh*t up.”
February 17th, 2012 at 8:43 pm
Thanks HL
So am I.
February 17th, 2012 at 9:37 pm
Monte +1 FTW! Thanks for that laugh, now I’m going to go make my time.
February 17th, 2012 at 11:36 pm
But let me guess, the man of ‘Moroccan descent’ was Muslim, right? But they are so sophisticated and PC to not mention that fact I bet.
February 18th, 2012 at 1:32 am
Paul
You bet wrong.
He attended prayers at a local mosque before heading over. they clearly mention he wanted to.engage in religious war.
February 18th, 2012 at 9:29 am
No virgins for you!
February 18th, 2012 at 10:01 am
good catch. better to get them while they’re still ignorant than let them wander around the internet until they find some real AQ to learn from.
February 18th, 2012 at 10:26 am
This guy is a mook. Is it wrong to send him to prison? No. Is it a tremendous waste of money and scarce law enforcement resources to put together this huge and elaborate investigation to put an illegal-immigrant mook into prison for the rest of his life? Yes. Next time deport the mook and spend the time and money chasing after real criminals and threats, rather than trying to score political points.
February 18th, 2012 at 4:04 pm
Why was it that on 9-12-2001 immigration, student and work visas, etc. from all Islamic countries was not stopped. Instead a police-state apparatus (Homeland Security-Patriot Act) was put in place. Now we hear more and more re: “homegrown terrorism” which includes gunowners, constitutionalists, military veterans,anti-illegal imigration proponets, anti-globalism, etc.
February 18th, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Entrapment?
February 18th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
Good thing the sting was not run by the ATF, or it would have been real C-4 and they would have “lost track” of him, with the same predictable results as Gunwalker.
Now let’s just hope they stay away from baiting some clown they can paint as a militia member…
February 19th, 2012 at 12:24 am
When is a terror threat not a threat?
When the feebs are entrapping an illegal to do something even more illegal.
Seriously, Folks- the feds knew the guy had been in country illegally for twelve years and for the last year had been setting him up to take a fall, rather than doing their job initially and shipping his ass out of the country.
This is/was nothing more than another false flag event arranged to get the sheeple more frightened and encourage further tightening of the controls around our necks.
February 19th, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Yet, the Moroccan participated on his own volition….just saying.