Hillside Man Arrested After FBI Undercover Investigation on Federal Charges for Attempting to Bomb Downtown Chicago Bar

CHICAGO—A Hillside man was arrested Friday evening after he allegedly attempted to detonate what he believed to be car bomb in front of a bar in downtown Chicago, announced Gary S. Shapiro, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; William C. Monroe, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

The arrest of ADEL DAOUD, 18, a U.S. citizen, was the culmination of a rigorous undercover operation during which Daoud developed his attack plans and surveilled and selected a target. Daoud was closely monitored by law enforcement and was offered several opportunities to change his mind and walk away from the supposed attack.

“The explosives that Daoud allegedly attempted to detonate posed no threat to the public. They were inert and had been supplied by undercover law enforcement personnel,” Mr. Shapiro said.

Daoud was charged in a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court with one count of attempt to use of a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) and one count of attempt to damage and destroy a building by means of an explosive. Daoud had an initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys. He remains in custody pending a detention and preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday in federal court. Daoud faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison for attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a potential maximum of 20 years in prison for attempt to damage or destroy a building by means of an explosive.

According to an affidavit in support of the complaint, beginning in about October 2011, Daoud used e-mail accounts to obtain and distribute material, some of which he purported to author, relating to violent jihad and the killing of Americans.

In about May 2012, two FBI online undercover employees contacted Daoud in response to material Daoud posted online and thereafter exchanged several electronic communications with Daoud. According to the affidavit, during these communications Daoud expressed an interest in engaging in violent jihad, either in the United States or overseas.

The affidavit alleges that, from late May to mid-June 2012, Daoud confirmed his belief in the propriety of killing Americans in a terrorist attack and then began seeking online resources regarding how to carry out an attack.

In about June 2012, Daoud was introduced to a purported cousin of one of the undercover employees, who said he resided in New York and was an operational terrorist. Daoud allegedly expressed an interest in meeting the cousin, who unbeknownst to Daoud was an FBI undercover agent. In the course of his dealings with the undercover agent, Daoud allegedly drafted a list of approximately 29 potential targets, including military recruiting centers, bars, malls, and other tourist attractions in the Chicago area. He then selected, researched and surveilled a target for attack to be carried out with an explosive device supplied by the undercover agent, the affidavit alleges.

About 7:15 p.m. yesterday, Daoud met the undercover agent in Villa Park and they drove to downtown Chicago. During the drive, Daoud led the undercover agent in a prayer that Daoud and the agent succeed in their attack, kill many people, and cause destruction. They entered a parking lot where a Jeep containing the purported explosive device was parked. Daoud then drove the Jeep out of the parking lot and parked the vehicle in front of a bar in downtown Chicago, which was the target that he had previously selected. According to the affidavit, Daoud exited the vehicle and walked to an alley approximately a block away, and in the presence of the undercover agent, attempted to detonate the device by pressing the triggering mechanism. He was then arrested.

This case was investigated by the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which is comprised of FBI special agents, officers from the Chicago Police Department and representatives from 20 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The Justice Department’s National Security Division assisted in the investigation.

The public is reminded that a criminal complaint contains mere allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

North Georgia Men Who Plotted to Purchase Explosives and Silencers Sentenced to Prison

GAINESVILLE, GA—Frederick Thomas, 73, of Cleveland, Georgia; and Dan Roberts, 68, of Toccoa, Georgia, were sentenced today by United States District Judge Richard W. Story to federal prison on charges of conspiring to obtain an unregistered explosive device and silencer.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “These defendants didn’t just talk about killing government officials and law enforcement officers, they purchased equipment, including a silencer and what they thought were explosive devices, to carry out their plans. Now they will spend five years in prison.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated, “The FBI’s number one priority is to prevent another terrorist attack, irrespective of whether that attack or plot to attack originates from an international group or a domestic one. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) here in Atlanta, along with its many and varied agency partners, after gathering actionable intelligence regarding this domestic based threat, launched a comprehensive criminal investigation to dismantle and disrupt this threat before an attack could occur and did so while remaining within the rule of law.”

Thomas was sentenced to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Thomas was convicted of these charges on April 10, 2012, upon his plea of guilty.

Roberts was sentenced to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Roberts was convicted of these charges on April 10, 2012, upon his plea of guilty.

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: defendants Thomas and Roberts were members of a known militia organization who sought to form what they referred to as a “covert group” that would plan and execute armed attacks on government buildings and federal employees including law enforcement agents. The firearms the defendants sought to obtain were to be used in those attacks.

In March and April 2011, the defendants met with each other and others to discuss the formation of the self-described “covert group,” its purposes, and their need to acquire weapons, ammunition, food, and survival gear.

Defendant Thomas discussed overt and covert operations for the group, stating that he had compiled what he called a “Bucket List,” which is a list of government employees, politicians, corporate leaders, and members of the media that needed to be “taken out” to “make the country right again.” Defendant Thomas further described the need for the group to acquire more weapons, ammunition, food, and survival gear and the need to establish a silent means of performing assassinations. To this end, defendant Thomas suggested silencers for handguns, stating, “In order to do what we want to do, take out the right people, we have to have some silent means of doing it. That means suppressors on handguns.” Defendant Thomas talked about his “Bucket List” of people he thought should be killed. Defendant Thomas further said that he thought they could “fight off a SWAT team” and that “I’ve been to war, and I’ve taken life before, and I can do it again.”

Defendant Thomas also made the following statements during the meetings:

■“The right people have to be taken down and taken down soon.”

■“There is no way for us, as militiamen, to save this country, to save Georgia, without doing something that’s highly, highly illegal. Murder. That’s f***ing illegal, but it’s gotta be done.”

■“When it comes time to saving the Constitution, that means some people gotta die.”

Defendant Thomas wished for the group to start taking action on some of their previously discussed plans, including a number of assassinations on various government officials. Defendant Thomas explained that he intended to model their actions on the plot of an online novel called “Absolved.” The plot of “Absolved” involves small groups of citizens attacking United States federal law enforcement representatives and federal judges. Defendant Thomas said that the covert group should conduct a number of assassinations on various government officials, and he particularly expressed a desire to kill Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service employees. He also provided those in attendance at the meeting a list of IRS office addresses.

During the same meeting, Thomas also made the following statements:

■“Civilian government operatives is who we’re going to be shooting at: IRS, ATF, FBI, and the cops.”

■“Who is the primary topics, targets? DOJ. Everybody in DOJ. That includes judges, ATF, IRS, and the hierarchy thereof.”

■“I could shoot ATF and IRS all day long.”

On April 30, 2011, defendant Thomas met with an individual he believed could obtain weapons for the covert group, including explosives. This individual is an active duty military employee who reported the activities of the covert group to military personnel after growing concerned about a potential attack. During a recorded meeting with this individual, defendant Thomas provided a handwritten list of 28 items including firearms, silencers, and explosives and asked the individual to obtain them for the group. Defendant Thomas told the individual that the covert group was looking for ways to conduct assassinations.

On May 24, 2011, defendant Thomas and a confidential source drove from north Georgia to Atlanta and conducted surveillance of the ATF and IRS buildings in Atlanta. During recorded conversations in conjunction with the surveillance of these buildings, Thomas discussed weapons the covert group wanted to acquire illegally, plans for additional surveillance inside the buildings, and methods of attacking the buildings with explosives.

On June 9, 2011, defendants Thomas and Roberts met with an undercover agent to discuss the purchase of silencers and explosives. Both defendants stated that they had specific targets in mind and defendant Thomas informed the undercover agent that they had already conducted surveillance of the targets. Defendant Thomas explained that the covert group was planning to carry out the actions of the main characters from the book “Absolved” and, like the main character in the book, defendant Thomas considered himself to be expendable at his age and was prepared to die if necessary. At one point during the meeting, defendant Thomas also said, “We know what we wanna do. We know how to do it. But we need [unintelligible] prepared to do it, so that’s what we’re doing now....Making the preparations, getting what we need so that when we go about doing it; we are equipped. Don’t know when that’s gonna be; within a year, I’m sure.”

On November 1, 2011, defendants Thomas and Roberts met with the undercover agent, gave him a sum of United States currency and a firearm, and took possession of a silencer for an M4 assault rifle and conversion parts to make the rifle fully automatic and what they believed were C-4 plastic explosives. During the meeting, the undercover agent explained to defendants Thomas and Roberts how to operate the explosives. During the recorded transaction, defendant Thomas said, “Now, I’m gonna want two more suppressors, one for a pistol and one for a rifle,” and defendant Roberts said, “The way my finances, finances are, I got, uh, it comes and goes, I’m only gonna be able to take one [silencer] at a time, probably.” Agents then arrested both defendants.

This case was investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which includes agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Protective Service (FPS), Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey A. Brown prosecuted the case.

Massachusetts Man Agrees to Plead Guilty to Plotting Attack on Pentagon and U.S. Capitol and Attempting to Provide Material Support to Terrorists

BOSTON—In a written agreement filed today in U.S. District Court in Boston, Rezwan Ferdaus, aka Dave Winfield, aka Jon Ramos, has agreed to plead guilty to attempting to damage and destroy a federal building by means of an explosive and attempting to provide material support to terrorists.

He has also agreed to a joint sentencing recommendation of 17 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. In exchange, the government has agreed to dismiss the remaining charges against Ferdaus at the time of sentencing. The parties have filed a joint motion asking the court to schedule a change-of-plea hearing. The plea agreement filed today is subject to review and acceptance by the district court. A date for the change-of-plea hearing has not yet been set.

In September 2011, Ferdaus, 26, was arrested in connection with his plot to damage or destroy the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol using large remote controlled aircraft filled with C-4 plastic explosives. He was later charged in a six-count indictment with attempting to damage and destroy a federal building by means of an explosive; attempting to damage and destroy national defense premises; receipt of explosive materials; receipt of possession of non-registered firearms (six fully automatic AK-47 assault rifles and three grenades); attempting to provide material support to terrorists; and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (al Qaeda).

The government has previously alleged that in 2010, and continuing until his arrest, he planned to commit acts of violence against the United States. With the goal of terrorizing the United States, decapitating its “military center,” and killing as many “kafirs” (an Arabic term meaning non-believers) as possible, Ferdaus extensively planned and took substantial steps to bomb the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol using remote controlled aircraft filled with explosives.

On September 28, 2011, Ferdaus requested and instructed the undercover FBI employees (UCE) to deliver explosives and firearms (material represented to Ferdaus to contain 25 pounds of C-4 explosives, including approximately 1.25 pounds of actual C-4 explosives, three grenades, and six fully automatic AK-47 assault rifles) for his attack plan. While inspecting the explosives and firearms in the UCEs’ vehicle and inside his storage unit, Ferdaus placed some of the explosives inside a remote controlled aircraft that he had ordered and obtained for his attack plan. Ferdaus then locked the explosives and firearms in his storage unit, at which time he was placed under arrest.

Ferdaus, a Northeastern University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in physics, began designing and constructing detonation components for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) using mobile phones that were delivered to individuals whom he believed to be al Qaeda operatives. Ferdaus allegedly supplied 12 mobile phones, each of which had been modified to act as an electrical switch for an IED, to FBI undercover employees, who he believed were members of or recruiters for al Qaeda, to be used to kill American soldiers stationed overseas. On September 28, 2011, Ferdaus delivered four more detonation devices to individuals who he believed were al Qaeda operatives.

The public was never in danger from the explosive devices, which were closely monitored by the UCs. The defendant was under surveillance as his alleged plot developed and the UCs were in frequent contact with him. More information about the case, including the indictment, affidavit, and other public documents, can be viewed at www.justice.gov/usao/ma/news.html.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Jack Pirozzolo and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI-Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistance was also provided by the Worcester, Ashland, and Framingham, Massachusetts Police Departments; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann and Donald L. Cabell of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit.

Inside the Denver JTTF, Part 1: Vigilance Against Terrorism

It was September 2009—a few days before the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks—when the Denver Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) received word that a Colorado resident and al Qaeda recruit was about to carry out a major terrorist attack. The jihadist needed to be located with the utmost urgency.

“We got the call on Labor Day,” recalled Special Agent John Scata, who supervises one of Denver’s two international terrorism squads, “and we immediately began working around the clock.”

Using the JTTF’s multi-agency approach to conducting investigations and gathering and sharing intelligence, task force members located Najibullah Zazi and helped track him to New York City, where he intended to become a suicide bomber in the subway system around the time of the 9/11 anniversary. “If we hadn’t found him in Denver as quickly as we did,” Scata said, “he might have gone into the wind and things could have turned out differently.”

Zazi and two of his high school classmates had previously traveled to Pakistan to receive al Qaeda training, including how to make bombs. His self-described plot to “weaken America” by killing innocent subway riders has been characterized as one of the most serious terrorist threats to the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks.

“Zazi is part of the spread of homegrown violent extremism in America,” said James Yacone, special agent in charge of our Denver office. “He was trained internationally but he became radicalized in the U.S. through the Internet. He was planning and facilitating his attack in Colorado, but his target was New York City.”

The plot was foiled thanks to an all-out effort by law enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world. Much of that effort was focused through Denver’s JTTF, which is comprised of more than 20 local, state, and federal agencies. There are actually three separate squads that form the task force—two that deal with international terrorism and one that concentrates on domestic terrorism.

Begun in 1994, Denver has one of the Bureau’s oldest JTTFs (our New York office established the first in 1980). “Our task force is very active,” said Yacone. “The Zazi case was well publicized, but our squads handle many other counterterrorism investigations—international and domestic. Protecting the country from terror attacks is the FBI’s number one priority.”

The JTTF’s team concept works well, Yacone explained. “All the local and state police officers and detectives on the task force have the same clearances that our agents do. They sit side by side, work together, and have the same access to all our resources.” More than 100 FBI-led JTTFs located around the country are organized the same way.

John Nagengast, a detective with Colorado’s Aurora Police Department, is a JTTF task force officer who worked on the Zazi case. “I am basically a local cop who deals with local crime,” he said. “Working the Zazi case opened up my world to the threat of terrorism.”

Nagengast explained that “a lot of entities were involved in the investigation, including the military and the intelligence community—and the Denver JTTF was central to the operation. We were ground zero for the Zazi investigation.” He added, “I got to see very quickly how the Bureau, locals, and state law enforcement came together with agencies around the world to prevent this attack. It was amazing to be a part of it.”

Denver: Crossroads of the Country

Denver’s JTTF is extremely active, said Special Agent in Charge James Yacone, because “we have a very large territory, a significant international footprint, and we are geographically located at the crossroads of the U.S.”

Contained within the Denver office’s area of responsibility are:

- Seven major military bases;

- About 400 defense contractors with security clearances who work on classified government projects;

- A constant stream of international visitors and students who come to the region for business, research, and academic pursuits; and

- More than 1,000 high-tech companies.

“All of those things require us to maintain a constant vigilance against terrorists and other extremists who would do us harm,” Yacone said. “That’s why the JTTF is critical to our operations and to the safety of the country.”

Next: The Colorado fusion center—a key JTTF partner.