photo credit: myajc.com
A man who pledged allegiance to Al
Qaeda sought to kill members of the military and conducted reconnaissance in
downtown Cleveland for a planned attack on July 4 -- but the Independence Day
plot was foiled after a months-long investigation, federal officials said
Monday.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen
Anthony said Demetrius Pitts, also known as Abdur Raheem Rahfeeq, was arrested
at 10 a.m. Sunday by the joint terrorism task force. Authorities were initially
notified about Pitts in 2017, when he lived in Cincinnati and allegedly made
statements supporting Al Qaeda and advocating violence against U.S. military
members.
. . .
Besides the alleged plan to attack
on July 4, officials said Pitts wanted to also harm military members and
families of service members. Herdman said Pitts discussed giving remote control
cars packed with shrapnel to children of military members.
When he was asked by
the undercover FBI agent if he was worried about injuring children, Pitts said,
"I don’t care and I have no regrets," according to Herdman.
Anthony said the arrest came after
multiple conversations showed that Pitts had a desire to do harm. Pitts was
born and "radicalized" in the U.S., and wanted to commit violence in
the name of Al Qaeda, he added. Pitts faces up to 20 years in prison.
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin
Williams said while the alleged plot was foiled, the public should still
contact authorities if they notice anything suspicious.
See the rest of the report here.
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