BOSTON, Mass. (WBZ)
Sudbury Man Arrested On Terrorism Charges
A man from Sudbury was arrested Wednesday on federal terrorism charges for allegedly planning attacks inside and outside the United States – including a plot to attack people at a mall
THE ARREST
27-year-old Tarek Mehanna was taken into custody at his parents’ home in Fairhaven Circle by federal agents and Sudbury police early this morning.
THE ALLEGED PLOTS
Investigators say Mehanna conspired with others between 2001 and 2008 plotting to “kill, kidnap, maim or injure” people in foreign countries and to kill two members of the Executive Branch of the U.S. government.
He and two others allegedly travelled to the Middle East in 2004 to look for military-type training for attacks on U.S. interests.
But they were rejected from a terrorist training camp because Mehanna was not Pakistani.
“I believe they could not make a contact in Yemen that would accept them into a training camp,” said acting U. S. Attorney Michael Loucks.
‘SHOOTING PEOPLE AT A MALL’
Prosecutors say Mehanna had “multiple conversations about obtaining automatic weapons and randomly shooting people at a shopping mall.”
“The conversations went so far as to discuss the logistics of a mall attack including coordination, weapons needed and the possibility of attacking emergency responders,” Loucks said.
“They had discussions regarding how to do it, whether to do it from multiple entrances, what to do when emergency responders arrive,” he added.
The plan was scrapped because the men could only get handguns and not the automatic weapons they wanted.
“They determined it was not feasible to go forward,” Loucks said.
Prosecutors would not say which malls were targeted.
THE OTHER SUSPECTS
Loucks said Mehanna conspired with two other men: Ahman Abousamra, who authorities say is now in Syria, and an unnamed man, who is cooperating with authorities in the investigation.
Investigators say the men “were inspired by the success of the Washington D.C. area snipers who were successful in terrorizing the public” in 2002.
According to authorities the three did not believe civilians were “innocents because they paid taxes to support the government and because they were non-believers.”
NO LINK TO OBAMA VISIT
Loucks would not comment on the timing of Mehanna’s arrest, but added it’s not linked to President Obama’s visit to Boston Friday.
Sudbury is an upscale suburb about 20 miles west of Boston.
“It has nothing whatsoever to do with the President’s visit,” he told reporters at a news conference.
“We don’t believe there are any terrorist cells in this area and any active cells that are plotting and planning at this time,” said FBI special agent Warren Bamford.
If convicted Mehanna faces 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
DEFIANT AT HEARING
During a court hearing on Wednesday, Mehanna refused to stand for the judge.
When the judge called him on it, Mehanna said, “I prefer not to stand.”
Moments later, after his father told him to get up, Mehanna stood and kicked back the chair he was sitting in.
Mehanna will remain in U.S. Marshal Custody.
MEHANNA’S PAST
He was indicted in January for allegedly making false statements to the FBI in a terrorism investigation.
Mehanna, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in November and charged with lying to the FBI in December 2006 when asked about the whereabouts of Daniel Maldonado, who is now serving a 10-year prison sentence for training alongside al-Qaeda members to overthrow the Somali government.
Mehanna’s father, Dr. Ahmed Mehanna, is professor of medicinal chemistry at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in Boston.
A 27-year-old Massachusetts man Tarek Mehanna has been charged with conspiring with others to carry out terror attacks against shoppers in U.S. malls and against U.S. military in Iraq, federal authorities say. (Oct. 21)
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Wild Thing’s comment………..
On the news they said he is a teacher at a Muslim school in Worcester.
He was rejected from a terrorist training camp? Who would have figured terrorists have standards?
Good one BobF, LOL, maybe they weren’t perverse enough for the group.
Question, how long before one of these groups succeeds and causes death and destruction. With every passing day, obama’s tying the hands of the FBI and other security groups to keep them from communicating and finding out what is going on. Then some more people will wake up.
We tried to warn them. We said the terrorists would follow us home, but did they listen? No. They still voted for Obama. This guy is an American citizen. He ought to be tried on treason, found guilty and shot. (That is the only conviction that still holds firing squad as the method of penalty for a guilty verdict.)
Rope + neck = good terrorist.
Obama is weakening us so that there will be another attack and then he’ll have a “crisis” that he created so he can grab power. I’m suprised the gun grabbers aren’t calling for more gun control.
This is the scariest kind of muslim terrorist, the homegrown. I hope the authorities are investigating the mosque he goes to and his imans.
“Damn, can they really be this stupid?” we ask. Well, yes. That makes ’em dangerous. Pros are predictable, amateurs (especially stupid ones) aren’t. Usually the “Darwin Award” takes care of this, but dumb luck is a nasty thing.
Diversity works, look at this. http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/05/22/crimesider/entry5034348.shtml
Keep those borders open and keep on importing these wonderful ‘citizens’.
Jack – there was an Egyptian here in Dallas that shot and killed his two teenaged daughters because they were too Westernized. He has not been caught. He ether fled back to Egypt or is being hidden by muslims in the States. His wife is a White American, pretty stupid. He probably married her to get to stay in America.
Thanks Tom. I’m just a cynical old son of a bitch. My previous employment kept me in association with muslims, I’d get saddled with being their escort during visits, show them the way ‘East” for their cult worship, interpret their f’king menues for them, then I’d have to work with them on projects, on the road some of them could drink my ass under the table. All because I could understand and speak some Bahasa and had studied their culture. I to put it mildly have no use for them. The nearest hypocrisy to their behavior can only be seen in the halls of Congress and the POTUS, primarily in one political party. People can’t see what unfettered Islamic immigration has done to the Netherlands, Denmark, France and England. Canada has it’s own peculiar problems and we cannot and will not halt the influx of those who breed like flies, refuse to assimilate and continuously plot to take over, by force if they can. Totally different than the wetback problem but let’s just cut our own throats for the sake of diversity. As Anonymous has stated “”Damn, can they really be this stupid?”” the emphatic answer is yes, hell yes, it’s their cult. They demonstrated that to the world during the December 26, 2004 a magnitude 9.3 earthquake and Samatran Tsunami.
Just a matter of time before the hammer drops. We can’t be lucky forever. Many of our guards have been dropped and soon very soon the next shoe will drop.
Ever since Obama has been in office these
things have been happening more and more.