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| Rezwan Ferdaus, alias Dave Winfield, alias Jon Ramos |
From
Reuters, a report this morning of yet another lucky escape from the deadly machinations of jihadist terrorists in the United States:
A man accused of plotting to fly explosives-packed remote-controlled model planes into the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol pleaded not guilty Monday. The bail hearing that had been scheduled for Rezwan Ferdaus, of Ashland, was delayed for several weeks because his lawyer, Catherine Byrne, asked for more time to prepare.
Authorities said Ferdaus, a 26-year-old Muslim American with a physics degree from Northeastern University, was arrested in Framingham last week after federal agents posing as al-Qaida members delivered what he believed was 24 pounds of C-4 explosive. They said the public was never in danger from the plot... Also in attendance were the parents of Tarek Mehanna, another Massachusetts man arrested in a different terror plot. They said they did not know Ferdaus' family but went to show their support. Mehanna is scheduled for trial later this month; authorities say he conspired to provide material support to al-Qaida and kill U.S. troops in Iraq. [More]
From
a Boston-area news channel, some background about the accused and the charges.
- Aged 26, with a Bangladeshi background, he is a 2008 graduate of Northeastern University in Boston, where he earned a degree in physics. Graduated from Ashland High School in 2003.
- Ferdaus used the aliases "Dave Winfield" and "Jon Ramos"
- Mother is a health coordinator; father is an engineer.
- "Despite living in the neighborhood for 14 years, none of their neighbors seemed to know much about them."
- Charged with a plot to damage or destroy the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol as well as attempting to provide support and resources to foreign terrorist organization al Qaeda
- Arrested by undercover agents posing as terrorists. He thought he was going to receive 25 pounds of C-4 explosives. 3 hand grenades. 6 fully automatic AK-47 rifles. He wanted to have remote control drone airplanes, packed them with explosives, crash them into the targets. The planes are about 5 feet long with a 4 foot wingspan.
- Instead, he was busted.
- He traveled to DC in May 2011 and chose sites where he would launch these drone planes filled with explosives. Was planning to attack DC for 2 years. He wanted to kill women and children and as many Americans as possible.
- "Ferdaus was also the drummer for the band Goospimp Orchestra."
Doesn't look much like a terrorist. What does that mean?
3 comments:
it seems like he just wanted to do all these things and that is all he actually did. does it actually say he had the model airplanes or he just wanted to have them at some point?
"He wanted to have remote control drone airplanes"... so he didn't ACTUALLY have any explosives OR model airplanes???
Here's what BusinessWeek reported a few days ago. Numerous other sources say similar things about what the suspect did, what he ordered, what he thought he was getting and so on.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9Q2RSN00.htm
Ferdaus, a Muslim American from Ashland, was arrested after federal agents posing as al-Qaida members delivered what he believed was 24 pounds of C-4 explosive, authorities said. He was charged with attempting to damage or destroy a federal building with explosives. A federal affidavit claims he began planning "jihad" against the U.S. in early 2010 after becoming convinced through jihadi websites and videos that America was evil... The model planes Ferdaus eyed were the F-4 Phantom and the F-86 Sabre, small-scale versions of military jets, investigators said. The F-4 is the more expensive of the two, at up to $20,000, Hahn said. The F-86, one of which Ferdaus actually obtained, costs $6,000 to $10,000 new. Ferdaus' plan, as alleged in court papers, was to launch three such planes from a park near the Pentagon and Capitol and use GPS to direct them toward the buildings, where they would detonate on impact and blow the Capitol dome to "smithereens." He planned to pack five pounds of plastic explosives on each plane, according to prosecutors.
End of quote.
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