Says US Citizen Planned To Pack R/C Models With Explosives
General Aviation advocates have been alarmed at the TSA's
continued mission creep into light aircraft, despite the fact that
terrorists don't appear interested in using them for attacks. Maybe
TSA just didn't think small enough. In Boston, US Attorney Carmen
Ortiz says a suspect has been charged with planning attacks on the
US Capitol and the Pentagon using radio-controlled model airplanes
filled with plastic explosives.
Rezwan Ferdaus is a 26-year-old US citizen who was arrested
after an undercover operation in which he allegedly worked with FBI
agents he thought were agents of al Qaeda. He has also been charged
with attempting to provide support and resources to al Qaeda to
carry out attacks on US soldiers overseas.
An FBI affidavit states, "Ferdaus, a Northeastern University
graduate with a degree in physics, began planning to commit a
violent “jihad” against the US in early 2010. He
obtained mobile phones, each of which he modified to act as an
electrical switch for an IED. He then supplied the phones to FBI
UCs, who he believed to be members of, or recruiters for, al
Qaeda.
"According to the affidavit, Ferdaus believed that the devices
would be used to kill American soldiers overseas. During a June
2011 meeting, he appeared gratified when he was told that his first
phone detonation device had killed three US soldiers and injured
four or five others in Iraq. Ferdaus responded, 'That was exactly
what I wanted.'"
Regarding the model airplane phase of the threat, the FBI
stressed that actual explosives never left the possession of its
undercover agents.
A statement from the US Department of Justice suggests that
Ferdaus thought it would be possible to bomb the Pentagon with the
model planes, then take control of the facility with a few armed
individuals, crowd survivors of the attack into an ever-decreasing
space, and "dominate" them. Authorities say that in recorded
conversations, the suspect "envisioned causing a large
“psychological” impact by killing Americans, including
women and children, who he referred to as “enemies of
Allah.”
According to the affidavit, Ferdaus’ desire to attack the
United States is so strong that he confided, “I just can't
stop; there is no other choice for me.”
The DoJ says Ferdaus faces up to 15 years in prison on a charge
of material support and resources to a foreign terrorist
organization; up to 20 years in prison on a charge of attempting to
destroy national defense premises; and a five year minimum
mandatory term in prison and up to 20 years on a charge of
attempting to damage and destroy buildings that are owned by the
United States, by using an explosive. On each charge Ferdaus also
faces up to three years of supervised release and a $250,000
fine.
DoJ made a point of noting Ferdaus is considered innocent until
proven guilty in the courts, and that the arrest should not be used
as an excuse for any retaliatory violence against any religious or
ethnic group.