Florida continues to prove it is a breeding ground for terrorists. Seven people were arrested for plotting terror attacks, -- five American citizens, one illegal alien from Haiti, and one resident alien. "Residents living near the warehouse said the men taken into custody described themselves as Muslims and had tried to recruit young people to join their group, which seemed militaristic. ..."
They would come out late at night and exercise. It seemed like a military boot camp that they were working on there. They would come out and stand guard. "They seemed brainwashed. They said they had given their lives to Allah." source
The Sears Tower has been the suggested target several times since 9/11.
Seven people were in custody Thursday night after state and local officials conducted anti-terrorism raids in Miami. The arrests were made in connection with the early stages of a plot to attack Chicago’s Sears Tower and the FBI building in Miami.
* The seven men were in the very early stages of planning an attack with they thought were Al Qaeda members, but were actually Department of Justice officials.
* The suspects were plotting to wage jihad in collaboration with others they believed to be Al Qaeda members. The suspects believed if they knocked down the Sears Tower, that they could effectively cripple the U.S. government.
* Those arrested include five American citizens, one illegal alien from Haiti, and one resident alien. All are expected to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Miami tomorrow morning.
* Local Miami media reported that agents were raiding a warehouse in Miami’s Liberty City section.
* There is no imminent threat to Miami or any other area because of these operations.
* Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is scheduled to hold a news conference on Friday at 10:30 am. A simultaneous news conference will be held in Miami. source
Flight training and English language schools seem to be an attraction for would-be terrorists in Florida.
Several terrorism investigations have had south Florida links. Several of the Sept. 11 hijackers lived and trained in the area, including ringleader Mohamed Atta, and several plots by Cuban-Americans against Fidel Castro's government have been based in Miami.Jose Padilla, a former resident once accused of plotting to detonate a radioactive bomb in the U.S., is charged in Miami with being part of a support cell for Islamic extremists. Padilla's trial is set for this fall. source
And these people are American citizens? I think it's time the FBI started running random background checks on America's Muslim population. They don't seem to want to police their own religion, so I guess it will be up to us.
Posted by: John The Patriot | June 22, 2006 at 10:27 PM
This was an awesome capture and will no doubt owe at least some of the credit to intelligence gathered in Iraq and/or Afghanistan.
Of course, Jay Leno might have some fun with some of the story though. Particularly: "The suspects believed if they knocked down the Sears Tower, that they could effectively cripple the U.S. government."
Apparently these disgruntled former 7-11 employees got some faulty intel on that ahem *vital* role Sears plays in the US...
Posted by: Ma r t i n @ b l o g b a t | June 23, 2006 at 01:12 AM
Actually five of them are American citizens, one an illegal alien from Haiti, and another a resident alien. There are more arrests to come, at least 12 warrants were issued.
I know that about the Sears Tower sounded really dumb, but as we know, terrorists are not always the pick of the liter. Look at Zarqawi, he was uneducated, could hardly read, was in jail from a young age on sex charges....
Posted by: Debbie | June 23, 2006 at 08:34 AM
Any Louis Farakhan connection mentioned with this?
Posted by: Mrs. Peperium | June 23, 2006 at 09:02 AM