Miguel Moran Diaz, 45, of Miami, was sentenced yesterday by
U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard of the Southern District of Florida to the
statutory maximum term of 120 months in prison, to be followed by three years
of supervised release, following his guilty plea for being a felon in
possession of a firearm.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of
Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office
and members of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) made the
announcement.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to using our law
enforcement resources in order to disrupt potential terroristic plots and
prosecute those individuals who seek to jeopardize our security,” said U.S.
Attorney Ferrer. “Individuals who
unlawfully possess firearms and advocate for violent extremism will continue to
be identified, prosecuted and brought to justice under the federal sentencing
guidelines.”
“Miguel Moran Diaz was an armed, convicted felon who
harbored sympathies for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,” said Special
Agent in Charge Piro. “He called himself
a ‘Lone Wolf’ for ‘ISIS.’ This is not a
scenario where law enforcement can afford to wait and see what happens
next. The FBI and our partners in the
Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated and disrupted this threat to South
Florida.”
According to court documents and statements made in court,
in late January 2015, Diaz came to the attention of the FBI due in part to
Facebook postings in the name of “Azizi
Al Hariri,” a photo of Diaz possessing a firearm and articles regarding the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist
organization. Thereafter, during a
subsequent undercover operation, Diaz told an FBI confidential source that he
was a convicted felon and could not purchase a firearm. Diaz asked the confidential source to purchase him a “baby
Glock” (a small concealable semi-automatic firearm) and other weapons, in
exchange for $500. Diaz proposed that he
would arrange to have the guns “stolen” from the confidential source’s vehicle.
Diaz also advised that he already owned a number of weapons,
including a rifle, handgun and a Ket Tec 2000 with a collapsible stock that he
would use to conceal the firearm. Diaz
showed the confidential source photographs of him holding firearms and also
displayed a gun that was concealed in his vehicle.
On Jan. 30, 2015, during a meeting with the confidential source
in Miami, Diaz described himself as a “Lone Wolf” for ISIS. Diaz indicated that he wanted to acquire a
.308 caliber bolt action rifle and intended to scratch “ISIS” into the shell
casings. Diaz claimed that after he
killed people, authorities would find the shell casings and put the city on
lockdown as they attempted to locate the sniper. Diaz also used his iPhone to view Al-Qaida in
the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP’s) Inspire Magazine website in order to learn how
to build bombs.
On Feb. 8, 2015, the confidential source again met with Diaz
in Miami in order to conduct target practice with loaded firearms.
On March 20, 2015, the confidential source asked Diaz if he
would like to purchase any additional ammunition. Diaz stated that he had approximately 500
rounds of ammunition at his residence, but wanted to purchase 500 additional
rounds if the price was good.
On April 2, 2015, the FBI executed a warrant and found Diaz
driving a vehicle while in possession of a .40 caliber handgun loaded with 15
rounds of ammunition and a magazine containing 15 addition rounds. A search of Diaz’s residence revealed an
additional Kel-tec 2000, .40 caliber rifle and approximately 200 to 300 rounds
of .40 caliber ammunition.
U.S. Attorney Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of
the FBI and JTTF. The case is being
prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc S. Anton and Karen E. Gilbert of
the Southern District of Florida.
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