Five Men Arrested in Plot to Bomb Ohio Bridge

CLEVELAND—Five people were arrested and accused of conspiring to use explosives to destroy a bridge near Cleveland, Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the FBI, announced today.

Douglas L. Wright, 26; Brandon L. Baxter, 20; and Anthony Hayne, 35, were arrested by members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force on the evening of April 30, 2012, on charges of conspiracy and attempted use of explosive materials to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce. Also arrested were Connor C. Stevens, 20, and Joshua S. Stafford, 23, and charges are pending against them.

The public was never in danger from the explosive devices, which were controlled by an undercover FBI employee. The defendants were closely monitored by law enforcement. The explosives that the defendants allegedly purchased and attempted to use were inoperable and posed no threat to the public.

A criminal complaint was filed this morning in U.S. District Court in Cleveland.

According to that complaint, Wright, Baxter, and Hayne are self-proclaimed anarchists who formed into a small group and considered a series of evolving plots over several months.

The initial plot involved the use of smoke grenades to distract law enforcement in order for the co-conspirators to topple financial institution signs atop high rise buildings in downtown Cleveland, according to the complaint.

The plot later developed to the utilization of explosive materials. The defendants conspired to obtain C-4 explosives contained in two improvised explosive devices to be placed and remotely detonated, according to the complaint.

The defendants discussed various bridges and physical targets in and around the Cleveland metropolitan area over the course of several months. The final plan resulted in the Route 82 Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge being the designated target. This bridge crosses from Brecksville, Ohio to Sagamore Hills, Ohio over the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, according to the complaint.

“The complaint in this case alleges that the defendants took specific and defined actions to further a terrorist plot,” said U.S. Attorney Dettelbach. “The defendants stand charged based not upon any words or beliefs they might espouse, but based upon their own plans and actions.”

“The safety of the citizens of the Northern District of Ohio is and continues to be our primary focus. The individuals charged in this plot were intent on using violence to express their ideological views,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Anthony. “The Joint Terrorism Task Force will continue to be vigilant in its efforts to detect and disrupt any terrorism threat, domestic or international.”

Wright, Baxter, Hayne, Stevens, and Stafford will appear before a federal magistrate in U.S. District court today, May 1, 2012, in Cleveland.

Agencies represented on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force include: Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Office; Federal Air Marshals Service; Cleveland Police Department; Cleveland Heights (Ohio) Police Department; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence; Westlake (Ohio) Police Department; U.S. Diplomatic Security Service; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Customs and Border Protection; RTA Police; Ohio State Highway Patrol; Transportation Security Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Shaker Heights (Ohio) Police Department; North Olmstead (Ohio) Police Department; U.S. Postal Inspectors; and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. Assistance was also provided by the U.S. National Park Service Park Rangers, Sagamore Hills Police Department, Brecksville Police Department, and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent of the charges until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

Federal Charges Filed Against Woman Who Made False Bomb Threat to Airline on 9/11

LAS VEGAS—A local woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for intentionally conveying false and misleading information to U.S. Airways on September 11, 2010, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Miki Victoria Sudo, 25, of Las Vegas, is charged with one count of conveying false information under such circumstances where the information may reasonably have been believed. Sudo surrendered to federal authorities in Las Vegas this morning, and is scheduled to make an initial appearance in court before United States Magistrate Judge Robert J. Johnston at 3:00 p.m. today. Sudo is charged under a relatively new federal law which went into effect in December 2004. If convicted, Sudo faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Sudo allegedly called U.S. Airways on September 11, 2010, and intentionally conveyed false and misleading information that her boyfriend, a passenger on Flight 399 from Las Vegas to Phoenix, was going to “blow up the plane.” Approximately 10 minutes after Flight 399 departed McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, the pilot reported mechanical issues and the plane began returning to the airport. As the plane was returning, the pilot received information about the bomb threat. The plane landed at McCarran, and because of the bomb threat, it was diverted to a secure area where all of the passengers were made to deplane and undergo screening. The checked baggage was also emptied from the plane and checked to ensure that no explosives were on board.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and the Federal Air Marshal Service, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Gregory Damm.

An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. 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.

Soldiers Help Bomb Victims; 29 People Injured in Attack

American Forces Press Service

Feb. 20, 2007 – Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers helped victims of a vehicle-bomb attack today near the village of Muhammad Baqir, Iraq, and officials have issued a revised count of soldiers injured in an attack on a military compound yesterday. About 100 Iraqi civilians were injured in today's Baghdad attack, officials said.

An insurgent bomber blew up his truck, which held two chlorine tanks -- a chemical that officials said terrorists use with the intent to take out large numbers of civilians. The tanks containing the chlorine separated from the vehicle. They did not explode, but leaked the gas, officials said.

Soldiers with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, and the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, provided medical aid to the injured and helped to evacuate them to a medical clinic in the village.

In other news from Iraq, 29 Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers were injured when insurgents attacked a combat outpost yesterday in Tarmiyah. An initial release had reported that 17 troops were wounded and two killed in the attack.

The U.S. soldiers defending the outpost were able to maintain security of the compound and evacuate the wounded, officials said, adding that elements of the unit detained seven suspected insurgents in the wake of the attack.

Of the 29 soldiers wounded in action, 24 suffered minor injuries and have returned to duty, officials said. Five others suffered more serious injuries and are receiving medical treatment.

The initial release from military officials in Baghdad characterized the attack on the outpost, north of the Iraqi capital, as a coordinated attack, due to the deliberate nature of the operation by insurgents and their use of several weapons systems against the outpost. During the attack, insurgents targeted U.S. troops with small-arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and a single vehicle-borne bomb. The Tarmiyah combat outpost was defended solely by American troops. Iraqi police left the site in December, relocating to the district police headquarters to nearby Mushada, officials said.

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Baghdad Square Targeted With Car Bombs; IED Kills Iraqi Children, Troops

American Forces Press Service

Jan. 22, 2007 – Two car bombs detonated at a Baghdad market today, killing and injuring dozens of civilians, U.S. military officials reported. The two car bombs targeted Iraqis at a local market in the Rusafa section of the Iraqi capital. Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, heard the explosions while operating in a nearby area of Rusafa.

Following the explosion, the unit observed Iraqi police and Iraqi emergency services quickly responding to Al-Tairrah Square, policing up the wounded and taking them to a local hospital for medical treatment. Iraqi emergency services are still at the site. Initial reports from the Iraqi police indicate that 60 Iraqi civilians died and 152 more were wounded by the car bomb blasts.

Elsewhere, four people were killed and seven others wounded from an improvised-explosive-device detonation Jan. 19 in Yusufiyah. While out on a combat patrol, soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and the U.S. Army's 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, observed a group of local nationals gathered near a bridge just south of Yusufiyah, a town about 10 miles southwest of Baghdad.

Iraqi troops went to talk to the local nationals while the U.S. soldiers provided security. While the Iraqi troops were searching the locals, an IED detonated on the northwestern side of the bridge, killing four people and injuring seven.

Of the four killed, two were Iraqi children, ages 1 and 5, and two were Iraqi army troops. Among the wounded, five were local nationals and two were Iraqi army soldiers.

After the incident, a local ambulance arrived to evacuate the wounded. While en route to the hospital, the ambulance struck an IED, resulting in some damage, but no injuries or fatalities. The injured were eventually evacuated and received medical treatment.

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