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Federal agents arrest man who allegedly planned suicide bombing on U.S. Capitol
Amine el-Khalifi, 29, was picked up while carrying an inoperable MAC-10 automatic weapon and a fake suicide vest provided to him by undercover FBI agents posing as al-Qaeda associates, U.S. officials said. They said he entered the United States when he was 16 and was living as an illegal immigrant in Northern Virginia, having overstayed his visitor’s visa for years.
Khalifi was arrested in a parking garage on Constitution Avenue NW a few blocks from the Capitol following a year-long investigation, officials said.
Khalifi, “who is illegally present in the United States, was charged today by criminal complaint with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property that is owned and used by the United States,” the Justice Department said later in a news release. It said he made an initial court appearance Friday afternoon before Magistrate Judge T. Rawles Jones Jr. in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, the release said.
Following the arrest, FBI agents and Arlington police raided a red-brick rambler on Randolph Road in the Douglas Park neighborhood of Arlington near a wooded area with trails and a creek. Agents were seen going in and out of the house and and searching the back yard. Arlington police said they were assisting with a search warrant.
Frank Dynda, a retired patent attorney, told The Washington Post that he rented an apartment in Arlington to a Bulgarian woman who said she was married to Khalifi but that she “mysteriously disappeared” while living with him there. Dynda said Khalifi remained in the apartment afterward but did not pay rent and was not on the lease. He said he evicted Khalifi about a year ago.
“He was suspicious,” said Dynda. “He was getting mysterious packages labeled “book,” but I didn’t think there were books in them.”
Dynda said he called the police to report Khalifi, then took him to landlord-tenant court three months later and got him evicted.
“He and his friends threatened to beat the hell out of me,” Dynda said.
U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride said the complaint alleges that Khalifi “sought to blow himself up in the U.S. Capitol Building.” He said Khalifi “allegedly believed he was working with al-Qaeda and devised the plot, the targets and the methods on his own.”
Lisa Monaco, assistant attorney general for national security, said: “Today’s case underscores the continuing threat we face from homegrown violent extremists. Thanks to a coordinated law enforcement effort ... Khalifi’s alleged plot was thwarted before anyone was harmed.”
According to the criminal complaint affidavit, a confidential source reported to the FBI in January 2011 that Khalifi had met at a residence in Arlington with other individuals, one of whom produced what appeared to be an AK-47 assault rifle, two revolvers and ammunition. Khalifi “allegedly expressed agreement with a statement by this individual that the ‘war on terrorism’ was a ‘war on Muslims’ and said that the group needed to be ready for war,” the Justice Department statement said.
Khalifi “sought to be associated with an armed extremist group” and was introduced on Dec. 1, 2011, to a man named Yusuf, who was actually an undercover law enforcement officer, the Justice Department said.
“Throughout December 2011 and January 2012, El Khalifi allegedly proposed to carry out a bombing attack,” the release said. “His proposed targets included a building that contained U.S. military offices, as well as a synagogue, U.S. Army generals and a restaurant frequented by military officials.”
It said he expressed a desire to the undercover officer “to conduct an operation in which he would use a gun and kill people face-to-face” and selected a Washington, D.C., restaurant for a bombing attack.
Then, on Jan. 15, the affidavit alleges, Khalifi “stated that he had modified his plans for his attack” and wanted instead to carry out a suicide attack on the U.S. Capitol Building. The same day in a West Virginia quarry, the affidavit says, he detonated a test bomb that was set up by undercover operatives.
On Friday in a parking garage near the Capitol, Khalifi “took possession of a MAC-10 automatic weapon and put on a vest containing what he believed to be a functioning bomb,” the Justice Department said. But when he started walking toward the Capitol, he was arrested before leaving the garage, it said.
Before heading for downtown Washington, Khalifi prayed Friday at the Dar al-Hijrah Mosque in Northern Virginia, but he was not a regular worshiper at the mosque, according to Johari Abdul-Malik, the prayer leader at Dar al-Hijrah.
The first official word of the arrest came in a cryptic news release from the Capitol Police that said an unidentified individual was arrested “in the area of the U.S. Capitol” but that “at no time was the public or congressional community in any danger.”
The statement said the arrest “was the culmination of a lengthy and extensive operation during which the individual was closely and carefully monitored.”
The statement provided no other details, but a U.S. official said a Moroccan man was picked up near the Labor Department on his way to the Capitol for what he thought would be a suicide attack. He was carrying with him a vest that he believed was packed with explosives but that actually contained harmless material, officials said.
The man thought he was being assisted by members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, but they were really undercover FBI agents, officials said.
“The arrest was the culmination of an undercover operation during which the suspect was closely monitored by law enforcement,” said Peter Carr, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney MacBride in Virginia, where the investigation is centered. “Explosives the suspect allegedly sought to use in connection with the plot had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement and posed no threat to the public.”
Khalifi entered the United States with a family member, and at some point, he came to the attention of the FBI, said a law enforcement official.
Undercover FBI agents gave the man inoperable explosives and a gun, and he was followed Friday into the District, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Fox News, which first reported the man’s alleged intention to carry out a suicide mission against the Capitol, said the investigation began after he expressed interest in conducting an attack but that it was unclear how the FBI learned of his aspirations.
Shortly before the alleged mission, the man had been praying at a mosque in the Washington area, Fox News reported.
The Associated Press, quoting a law enforcement official, said Khalifi changed his mind about his intended target several times but ultimately decided on the Capitol. He is not believed to be associated with al-Qaeda, AP said.
In the past year, federal agents have arrested at least 20 people in the United States on terrorism-related charges, the Senate Intelligence Committee has said.
In September, FBI agents posing as al-Qaeda associates helped arrest a Massachusetts man of Bangladeshi descent, Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, for allegedly plotting to fly explosives-packed model planes into the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol.
In October 2010, Farooque Ahmed, a Pakistani American from Ashburn, Va., was arrested for an alleged plot to bomb Washington-area Metro stations. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in April 2011 to 23 years in prison.
The Capitol was the scene of intense activity Friday, as the House and Senate voted on a $150 billion economic package that extends a payroll tax cut through the rest of the year for 160 million Americans. The measure passed both houses after morning debates.
News of the alleged plot came just as a group of Muslim congressional staffers and others finished their noontime Friday prayers at the U.S. Capitol.
“Whoever this guy was, if he was aiming for the Capitol, he would have gotten all of us,” said Abdul-Malik, the imam of the Dar al-Hijrah Mosque, after leading the prayers in one of the meeting rooms of the Capitol.
About 50 worshipers attended the prayers, including congressional staffers and workers from the National Archives, Library of Congress, Capitol Police and other surrounding federal offices. Also praying with the group was Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, according to Abdul-Malik, who gave the main sermon at the prayers.
Muslim leaders from the region spent the afternoon conferring and trying to learn more about the arrest and the identity of the suspect.
Several expressed fears of backlash against Muslims.
“We don’t know anything yet — who this man was and where he’s from,” said Rizwan Jaka, spokesman for the All Dulles Area Muslim Society. “But people often correlate the individual with whatever mosques he has worshiped in previously. Mosques are open to the public and anyone can come in.”
Jaka added: “We condemn and reject these actions. Usually it’s these lone-wolf situations, and we’re just glad he’s off the street.”
“We got a call from the FBI field office,” Abdul-Malik said later. “They said that the guy prayed at the mosque this morning. They’ve been following him for a long time now, and he’s not regular attender at our mosque nor any other mosque. So they told us we shouldn’t be concerned.”
As news of the arrest spread, several members of Dar al-Hijrah expressed concern that the mosque could be thrust into the spotlight once again. The mosque has suffered criticism in recent years because of terrorist suspects who were later found to have worshiped there at some point. Its leaders, however, have pointed out that it is also one of the biggest mosques in the Mid-Atlantic, and as such attracts worshipers from all over, including many infrequent visitors.
“It’s tough the thought of having to go through all of this over again,” said a regular attendee, who did not wish to be identified because he is not part of the mosque leadership.
According to another member of the mosque, Dar al-Hijrah recently installed surveillance cameras following recommendations from local police to increase security in response to hate mail and threats. The mosque has offered to cooperate with the FBI, including sharing the footage if necessary.
Staff writers William Wan and Clarence Williams and researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report..
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