The FBI says they arrested a 21-year-old who was planning a terror attack on the White House, among other targets.
NEW: Feds arrest Georgia man suspected of plotting attack Washington Monument, White House and Lincoln Memorial with weapons and explosives. Per court documents - man had "hand-drawn diagram of ground floor of the West Wing"
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) January 16, 2019
BREAKING: Georgia man suspected of plotting attack against White House for TOMORROW arrested by FBI. Man had "hand-drawn diagram of ground floor of the West Wing"
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) January 16, 2019
And they have a name for the alleged creep:
US Attorney's Office and FBI: Hasher Jallal Taheb, 21, of Georgia, arrested for allegedly planning to attack the White House and other federal buildings in Washington, DC; community tip led to arrest; believe he was acting on his own.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 16, 2019
Hasher Jallal Taheb from Cumming, GA, was charged in Federal Court in Atlanta Wednesday with intent to destroy, by fire or explosives, a building owned, possessed, or leased to the United States, @CNNValencia reports.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 16, 2019
“Hasher Jallal Taheb” huh? Hmmmmm.
More from CBS-46:
A 21-year-old from Cumming is facing serious charges after federal agencies say he planned to attack the White House.
The suspect, identified as Hasher Jallal Taheb, is charged with intent to destroy by fire or explosives a building owned by the U.S.
According to a criminal complaint, an anonymous tip was reported to local law enforcement in March 2018. The tipster stated Taheb had become “radicalized, changed his name, and made plans to travel abroad.”
Agents began communication with the suspect in August when he listed a car for sale. The funds from the sale were said to be funding a trip overseas for hijra.
On December 7, an undercover FBI agent met with Taheb where he was shown a hand-drawn diagram of the ground floor of the White Houses’s West Wing.
Taheb was arrested Wednesday January 16 in Buford. FBI agents say he arranged to exchange vehicles for three semi-automatic assault rifles, three explosive devices with remote initiation and one AT-4.
Definitely sounds like some kind of religious terror attack. Thank goodness the law enforcement officials got this nutjob before the did any damage…
UPDATE (TRS):
Here’s more details on how it all went down…
“His alleged intent was to attack the White House and other targets of opportunity in the Washington, D.C. area,” U.S. Attorney B.J. Pak said.
Pak said Taheb intended to use IEDs and an anti-tank rocket to carry out the attacks.
The criminal complaint, which accuses him of plotting to destroy a government building, said a community member contacted law enforcement in March 2018 to say that Taheb had become radicalized.
On Aug. 25, 2018, Taheb allegedly put his vehicle up for sale. An FBI informant reached out to show interest and met with the suspect days later.
Taheb allegedly said he planned to travel to “hijra,” a term said to refer to Islamic State territory and he was selling the car to fund the trip. But he didn’t have a passport.
He allegedly told the informant he wanted to attack the White House and Statue of Liberty in jihadist attacks.
During one meeting with an FBI agent and the source, Taheb “advised that if they were to go to another country, they would be one of many, but if they stayed in the United States, they could do more damage,” the affidavit says. Taheb “explained that jihad was an obligation, that he wanted to do as much damage as possible, and that he expected to be a ‘martyr,’ meaning he expected to die during the attack.”