Attempted car-bombing in Maryland.

Todd 1 · 12-09-2010, 03:38

Man arrested in Md. terror bomb plot
By Maria Glod

A Baltimore man who is a recent convert to Islam has been charged with plotting to blow up a military recruiting office in Catonsville, Md., authorities said Wednesday, but the bomb was a fake provided by the FBI.

Antonio Martinez, 21, who changed his name to Muhammad Hussein when he converted, was charged with the attempted murder of federal employees and the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction against U.S. property. He faces life in prison if convicted.

Martinez was arrested Wednesday morning after he tried to remotely detonate what he believed to be explosives in a vehicle parked in the Armed Forces recruiting station parking lot, federal authorities said.

According to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court in Baltimore, Martinez wanted to fight jihad in the United States and specifically targeted the U.S. military because they were killing Muslims overseas.

He came to the FBI's attention through public postings on his Facebook page, the affidavit said.

He posted statements calling for violence to stop the oppression of Muslims. On Oct. 8, a person identified as a confidential source told the FBI about the postings.

That began a series of recorded conversations that would eventually include an undercover FBI agent whom Martinez thought was from Afghanistan and would help him make a vehicle bomb and teach him how to detonate it.

But the operation began with the FBI operative responding on Facebook to the calls for violence. In the Facebook communications, Martinez wrote that he wanted to go to Pakistan or Afghanistan, that it was his dream to be among the ranks of the mujahideen, and that he hoped Allah would open a door for him because all he thinks about is jihad.

The FBI then recorded a series of conversations between Martinez and the confidential operative. Martinez said he wanted to target the Armed Forces recruiting station on Route 40 in Catonsville.

The affidavit said Martinez tried to recruit at least three others into the operation, but they all declined. One even tried to talk Martinez out of the plot. When he couldn't get others to join, the confidential operative offered to introduce him to his "Afghani brother," who would help, the affidavit said.

That man actually was an undercover FBI agent, who suggested he could help Martinez make a vehicle bomb.

The plot came together, and on Wednesday, Martinez, the agent and the confidential informant drove to the recruiting station separately, the affidavit said. Martinez decided where to park the vehicle, inspected the fake bomb and tried to detonate it before he was arrested, the affidavit says.

The court papers describe a young man obsessed with jihad and fighting the U.S. military here and abroad. He is described as watching videos of Osama bin Laden and calls Anwar al-Aulaqi his "beloved sheikh." Aulaqi is on a terror watch list and was the spiritual inspiration behind the attempted bombing of a jetliner over Detroit and the shooting at Fort Hood that killed 13 people.

In fact, the affidavit says that Martinez referenced that attack, saying that killing those soldiers prevented them from killing Muslims overseas.

During a brief court hearing in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Martinez said he is married and works in construction.

Magistrate James K. Bredar asked Martinez to identify himself.

"My name is Muhammed Hussain," Martinez said.

The judge pressed, asking if he also goes by Antonio Martinez.

"That is my other name that I was born with," Martinez said.
Martinez,

He was ordered held pending a Dec. 13 detention hearing.

Officials said the plot is unrelated to incidents in October and early November in which someone shot at the Pentagon, two military recruiting stations and the Marine Corps Museum, all in Northern Virginia.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/cri...rror-bomb.html

Dusty · 12-09-2010, 04:01

"Hussein", heh?

That name prolly translates into "well-used bag o' douche", given the last three prominent gents with that monicker in the news.

Masochist · 12-09-2010, 11:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dusty

"Hussein", heh?

That name prolly translates into "well-used bag o' douche", given the last three prominent gents with that monicker in the news.

Muhammad Hussein ... is that the equivalent to John Smith? Of all the names, he couldn't get more creative?

lindy · 12-09-2010, 15:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masochist

Muhammad Hussein ... is that the equivalent to John Smith? Of all the names, he couldn't get more creative?

Abu Hussein was already taken. Google that "Shi'ite" and you'll see what I'm saying.

Masochist · 12-09-2010, 15:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by lindy

Abu Hussein was already taken. Google that "Shi'ite" and you'll see what I'm saying.

Thanks for that link. My wandering eyes saw "Today in Pictures" for the Pole Dance Championship (right-hand side of the article). Being a sports fan, I checked it out. The first picture was of a French guy.

lindy · 12-09-2010, 17:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masochist

Thanks for that link. My wandering eyes saw "Today in Pictures" for the Pole Dance Championship (right-hand side of the article). Being a sports fan, I checked it out. The first picture was of a French guy.

Доверяй, но проверяй!

(that wasn't the intent but funny nevertheless, sportsfan!)

ZonieDiver · 12-09-2010, 17:10

Quote:

The first picture was of a French guy.

French, I thought you said they were Poles?

Penn · 12-09-2010, 21:14

I am pleased that they stopped this pseudo bombing, but I am concerned that this tactic employed by HLS is becoming very gray, boarding on encouragement, leading to entrapment; validation and confirmation of need, leading to job performance evals.

Ret10Echo · 12-10-2010, 06:56

Just watching the show. This from the local news:

Quote:

Mother Of Bomb Plot Suspect "Embarrassed"
Thursday, December 09, 2010 - Robert Lang and Associated Press

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A woman who identified herself as the mother of a man arrested for attempting to bomb a military recruiting center in the Baltimore area says she tried to persuade her son not to convert to Islam.

The woman, who would not give her name, told the Associated Press Thursday that she's a "devout American" and is upset and embarrassed over her son's actions. Her son, Antonio Martinez, is a naturalized U.S. citizen who goes by the name Muhammad Hussain after recently converting to Islam.

Martinez faces charges of attempted murder of federal officers and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

The woman at the address where Martinez reportedly lived said she is African-American and that her son's father is Nicaraguan. She refused to comment further.

Court documents filed Wednesday say Martinez told an FBI source last week that his mother was "disappointed" with him.

In conversations through his Facebook account, Martinez, who calls himself Muhammaad Hussain, allegedly told the source that all he thinks about is jihad.

On Facebook, Martinez wrote, "if the military continues to kill Muslims.....they would need to expand their operation by killing U.S. Army personnel where they live.....Jihad is not only in Afghanistan or Pakistan but also in the United States."

The documents say Martinez talked with the source about shooting people inside the center and burning the building. He was introduced to an FBI agent who along with the source provided him with a phony bomb in a van.

In the criminal complaint, Martinez allegedly tried to recruit at least three people to help him in the bombing plot. Proseuctors say two of those people refused. A third tried to talk Martinez out of it and contacted the FBI.

He told a judge that he could not afford an attorney and was assigned a pubic defender. Martinez said he works in construction and is married and that he understood the charges against him.

After the hearing, Joseph Balter, the public defender assigned to represent him, cautioned against a rush to judgment, saying it's very early in the case.

"We really hope that nobody jumps to any judgements about the guilt of this client or any other issue in this case," Balter told reporters after the hearing.

After the hearing Balter spoke to an older man about Martinez. The man would not identify himself or his relationship to Martinez when approached by WBAL News.

"I don't really know what happened. I just want to leave," the man told WBAL News as he ran down a courthouse hallway.

WBAL's Jayne Miller reports Martinez did have an extensive juvenile and adult criminal record dating back to 2004.