BREAKING: Cleveland FBI says it thwarted downtown Fourth of July terrorist attack

[mountaineer]

Cleveland FBI says it thwarted downtown Fourth of July terrorist attack
Updated 7:54 AM; Posted 6:57 AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Federal law enforcement officials are expected to announce the arrest of a person suspected of planning a Fourth of July terrorist attack in downtown Cleveland.

The FBI released a brief statement early Monday saying it will hold a press conference at 9:15 a.m. at the FBI headquarters on Lakeside Avenue in Cleveland. The person is charged with attempted material support of a foreign terrorist organization.  ... More

[mountaineer]

I'm trying to get more information from the live feed of the press conference, but these guys are very low talkers. All I heard is that he's a US citizen who wanted to join a foreign terror organization.

[mountaineer]

Reporter posts, in reverse order:

Pitts is a United States citizen.
Darcie Loreno 5 minutes ago

Anthony: Throughout the investigation, he repeatedly said he wanted to be a part of a foreign terrorist organization, specifically Al Qaeda.
Darcie Loreno 7 minutes ago

Cleveland Chief Calvin Williams still urges the public: “if you see something, say something.”
Darcie Loreno 10 minutes ago

Herdman: He wanted to target people watching fireworks and watching the Fourth of July parade downtown.
Darcie Loreno 11 minutes ago

The suspect said he didn’t care about injuries and “had no regrets.”
Darcie Loreno 11 minutes ago

Herdman: Last week, the suspect was walking around downtown Cleveland conducting reconnaissance on what he thought was a large-scale attack. He planned to use a van packed with explosives and taking places like St. John’s Cathedral “off the map.”
Darcie Loreno 12 minutes ago

He could face 20 years in prison.
Darcie Loreno 12 minutes ago

U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman: Pitts has been charged in federal court and will appear in court today.
Darcie Loreno 15 minutes ago

A final meeting happened yesterday morning where the undercover agent and Pitts had a lengthy conversation — Pitts indicated his desire to participate in a terrorist attack on July, and his desire to kill military members and others.
Darcie Loreno 16 minutes ago

He’s then accused of surveilling landmarks including Voinovich Park.
Darcie Loreno 16 minutes ago

Anthony: The suspect eventually moved to Cleveland. And just last week with a meeting with an undercover agent, Pitts asked: “What would hit them in their core? Blow up at the Fourth of July parade.”
Darcie Loreno 18 minutes ago

The FBI in 2017 learned he made statements supporting Al Qaeda and of violent intentions when he lived in the Cincinnati area.
Darcie Loreno 19 minutes ago

Stephen Anthony, FBI Special Agent in Charge for CLE FBI: Demetrius Pitts, aka Abdur Raheem Rahfeeq, was arrested yesterday by the joint terrorism task force.

FOX 8 Cleveland

[Suppressed]

Suspect:

[Bigun]

Good!  Most of the FBI is composed of good, hard working people but the people populating the 7th floor of the FBI building in Washington have given the entire organization a bad name!

[musiclady]

Good!  Most of the FBI is composed of good, hard working people but the people populating the 7th floor of the FBI building in Washington have given the entire organization a bad name!

Agree completely.

Thank the Lord they stopped this.

[TomSea]

Sounds a bit like one of those sting operations and how else? Are they going to find these people except play along and baiting them?

[Applewood]

This is why I don't want so-called "refugees" in this country.  We have enough ISIS  wannabes right here in the US.

[mountaineer]

 This guy is a convicted felon. I haven't heard whether he was "radicalized" (converted) in prison.

[truth_seeker]

Jeff Sessions and Chris Wray decided to finally get some positive PR, and to go get one of those they have had on their "radar."

[Maj. Bill Martin]

That's my neck of the woods.  What an a-hole.

[Smokin Joe]

Well, I hope they took out a real threat and not just some sting strung along half-wit they can pull out of the hat for good press when the agency gets a black eye.

[mountaineer]

... Court documents say the FBI began paying attention to Pitts in 2015 when he sent a disturbing message to a local TV news program with a Facebook account registered under his alias, Abdur Raheem Rahfeeq.

After more alarming Facebook comments in 2017, the FBI took a closer look and determined that Pitts was interested in joining al Qaeda, training overseas and returning to the U.S. to stage an attack, the complaint said.

An undercover FBI employee met with Pitts and began recording their conversations, in which he fantasized about beheading President Donald Trump, attacking U.S. soldiers, and sowing terror in Cleveland on Independence Day.

"I'm trying to figure out something that would shake them up on the 4th of July," he said in one recording.

An FBI informant provided Pitts with a bus pass so he could get to downtown Cleveland to take photos of bombing targets. He allegedly pledged allegiance to terrorist leaders in videos made with a cellphone — which was also provided by the FBI. His passcode for the phone wasn't exactly a stumper: 0704, the date of the supposed attack.  ...

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