Oregon Bomb Sting

[classicman]

Somali-Born Teenager Held in Oregon Bomb Sting

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal agents in a sting operation arrested a Somali-born teenager just as he tried blowing up a van he believed was loaded with explosives at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, authorities said.

The bomb was an elaborate fake supplied by the agents and the public was never in danger, authorities said.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested at 5:40 p.m. Friday just after he dialed a cell phone that he thought would set off the blast but instead brought federal agents and police swooping down on him.

Yelling "Allahu Akbar!" — Arabic for "God is great!" — Mohamud tried to kick agents and police after he was taken into custody, according to prosecutors.

"The threat was very real," said Arthur Balizan, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon. "Our investigation shows that Mohamud was absolutely committed to carrying out an attack on a very grand scale,"

Link

Well that's not good. I wouldn't have expected that one. These guys really are creative in their targets.

[footfootfoot]

Is there some reason why we can't deport everyone, and then re-open Manzanar for those whom we can't deport?

[Clodfobble]

Good job, FBI.

[Lamplighter]

I'm speculating from the left wing view here...

It seems to me there may be something more going on here
that sort of smacks of a PR job by the feds.

The feds worked with this 17 yr old kid (student) for 2 years,
made a real bomb for him to test out in the woods
the test bomb actually did explode,
but they did not arrest him until some time later,
on a particular night when crowds assembled for a X-tree lighting in the main .

Only one of the local TV stations had the story last night (exclusive ?)
and they had a sheaf of "legal documents" describing the history of the case in detail.

The whole story last night was just too neat and too complete for a first news report.

If it's a real case, I have a second concern about the FBI's decision
to let the (now) 19 yr old park the vehicle in amongst a large crowd,
being absolutely certain he had not substituted their fake bomb with the real thing.

I'm ordinarily not much of a conspiracist, but it seems to me
they should have had sufficient evidence after 2 years working with him
to arrest and charge him without taking such a risk with safety of the public.

[skysidhe]

I think the FED's were being prudent.

It's easier to put an adult terrorist away for life. Two years worth of evidence. Iron clad case.

[smoothmoniker]

Can we sentence him to 20 years of continues TSA body searches?

[xoxoxoBruce]

What's the penalty for setting off a homemade bomb in the woods, even on federal land? Billy Bob does that pretty often, so I'm guessing not much, and Billy Bob would never be convicted of being a terrorist.

Mohamud, just a good 'ol boy, never meanin' no harm... they had to wait for an attempt on people to insure a serious conviction. Especially in Oregon.

[classicman]

Perhaps in light of the current climate, they did everything to ensure there was NO WAY this case was going wrong.

[footfootfoot]

Absolutely. Can you imagine how fucked up it would be if they moved too soon and he walked?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Or flew.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

I'm ordinarily not much of a conspiracist, but it seems to me
they should have had sufficient evidence after 2 years working with him
to arrest and charge him without taking such a risk with safety of the public.

According to the reports there was no risk to the safety of the public.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

I have a second concern about the FBI's decision
to let the (now) 19 yr old park the vehicle in amongst a large crowd,
being absolutely certain he had not substituted their fake bomb with the real thing.

[Lamplighter]

For this thread, maybe I'll adopt a new signature line

The Portland City Coucil is now going for parking restrictions around public squares and parks where people gather.

------------------------
Coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

[xoxoxoBruce]

That would standard procedure when a function like the tree gathering was going on, in most cities.

[classicman]

Ya know it seems that some things which are commonplace on the east coast are completely foreign on the western side of the nation. This just seems to be yet another example.