Mother of San Bernardino Shooter Agrees to Plead Guilty to Destroying Evidence Related to Her Son’s 2015 Terrorist Attack

   RIVERSIDE, California – The mother of Syed Rizwan Farook, the male shooter in 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack, has agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge of intending to impede a federal criminal investigation by shredding a map her son generated in connection with the attack.

          Rafia Sultana Shareef, a.k.a. Rafia Farook, 66, of Corona, has agreed to plead guilty to a one-count information charging her with alteration, destruction, and mutilation of records. The criminal information and related plea agreement were filed Monday in United States District Court in Riverside, and the documents became publicly available today.

          Shareef is scheduled to make her initial appearance in federal court in Riverside on March 16.

          According to her plea agreement, on December 2, 2015, Shareef was living at a Redlands residence she shared with her son and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, and her grandchild. At approximately 8 a.m. on that day, Farook and Malik left the family home and left their infant child with Shareef, falsely telling her that they were going to a medical appointment.

          Instead, Farook and Malik drove a black SUV that Farook had rented a few days earlier to the Inland Regional Center (IRC) in San Bernardino. Farook entered the IRC alone, while Malik waited inside the SUV, which was parked at the IRC parking lot. Farook placed a bag containing a bomb in a conference room where his coworkers were holding an event. After some time, Farook and Malik left the IRC, then returned at approximately 10:58 a.m. dressed in black tactical gear.

          Approaching the IRC on foot from the exterior, Farook and Malik opened fire using high-powered firearms on individuals outside and inside the venue, killing 14 people and wounding at least 22 others. At approximately 11:01 a.m., Farook and Malik departed the IRC and began driving around San Bernardino. A few hours later, Farook and Malik engaged in a firefight with law enforcement officers that resulted in the wounding of one policeman and their own deaths.

          Sometime between 11:43 a.m. and 3:06 p.m., while Shareef was still at her home, she learned that law enforcement had identified her son as a suspect in the IRC attack, the plea agreement states. In the presence of family members that afternoon, Shareef expressed her belief that her son and daughter-in-law had perpetrated the IRC attack, according to the plea agreement.

          Prior to leaving the family home with her infant grandchild at 3:41 p.m., Shareef went into her son’s bedroom, grabbed at least one document that appeared to be a map, and fed it into a shredder, according to the plea agreement. Shareef admitted that she knew her son had produced the document, and she believed it was directly related to his planning of the IRC attack.

          Once she pleads guilty to the felony charge, Shareef will face a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in federal prison, but the plea agreement contemplates a sentence of no more than 18 months.

          This matter was investigated by the FBI. This case stems from the broader investigation of the San Bernardino attack by members of the Inland Empire Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes the FBI; the San Bernardino Police Department; the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Homeland Security Investigations; the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department; the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office; the Chino Police Department; the Redlands Police Department; the Ontario Police Department; the Corona Police Department; and the Riverside Police Department.

          The case against Shareef is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher D. Grigg, Chief of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section; Melanie Sartoris of the General Crimes Section; and Julius J. Nam of the Criminal Appeals Section. Justice Department Trial Attorneys Alicia Cook and C. Alexandria Bogle of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section provided substantial support.

Former Atomwaffen Division Member Sentenced to Prison

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A white supremacist and former member of the Atomwaffen Division was sentenced today to one year in prison for possessing firearms while being an unlawful drug user and making a false statement in order to illegally purchase a firearm.

According to court documents, in October 2017, Andrew Jon Thomasberg, 21, of McLean, purchased a semiautomatic rifle and claimed to be the true purchaser. In fact, Thomasberg knew this statement was false and that he was purchasing the gun for a third party. He transferred that firearm to that third party after purchasing it. Thomasberg also possessed at least four firearms while unlawfully using controlled substances, including marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, and opium.

According to court documents and testimony, Thomasberg, who has a prior criminal conviction for a dangerous firearms offense, was associated with white supremacist organizations, such as Vanguard America, Atomwaffen Division, and Patriot Front. In text message communications, while Thomasberg possessed firearms and was a regular drug user, he glorified racially motivated violence and referred to mass shooters as “saints.” Additionally, Thomasberg informed law enforcement that only one day before he was arrested, he had submitted an application to join Patriot Front. Patriot Front is “a white supremacist group whose members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it to them alone.”

This case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. Click here for more information about Project Guardian.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Larissa Knapp, Special Agent in Charge, Counterterrorism, FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony W. Mariano and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Walutes, Jr. prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:19-cr-337.

Man Arrested for Bomb Threats Against Collins Aerospace in Wilson

RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announces that KiDARRYL T. PHILLIPS faces federal charges for Threatened Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction.

According to publicly filed documents in federal court, PHILLIPS is alleged to have made six bomb threats targeting Collins Aerospace in Wilson, North Carolina.  Phillips is a contract employee of Collins Aerospace and had his initial appearance today in front of United States Magistrate Judge James E. Gates.

If convicted, PHILLIPS would face up to a maximum term of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine as to each count, and a term of up to five years supervised release following any term of imprisonment. 

The charges and allegations contained in the criminal complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The Wilson Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are conducting the investigation of this case.  Assistant United States Attorney Gabriel Diaz is prosecuting this case for the government.