Hasher Jallal Taheb, 21, was arrested Wednesday following a yearlong FBI investigation.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – A Georgia man is accused of plotting to attack the White House and other targets, including the Statue of Liberty.
Hasher Jallal Taheb, 21, was arrested Wednesday following a yearlong FBI investigation, which started with a tip warning he may have been radicalized.
The U. S. attorney on the case said Taheb tried to buy weapons from an undercover agent in Buford.
“His alleged intent was to attack the White House and other targets of opportunity in the Washington D. C. area by using explosive devices, including an improvised explosive device and anti-tank rocket,” U. S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Byung J. “BJay” Pak said.
The affidavit says Taheb told a confidential FBI source in October that he planned to travel abroad for “hijra,” which the agent wrote refers to traveling to territory controlled by the Islamic State. Because he didn’t have a passport, he couldn’t travel abroad and told the FBI source that he wanted to carry out an attack in the U. S. against the White House and the Statue of Liberty.
He met with the undercover agent and the FBI source multiple times last month and was also in frequent contact using an encrypted messaging application, the affidavit says.
