US man charged in Pentagon, Capitol explosive plot

BOSTON,  (Reuters) – U.S. authorities today  arrested and charged a Massachusetts man with plotting to  damage or destroy the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol by using  remote-controlled aircraft filled with plastic explosives.
Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, a U.S. citizen, was also charged with  attempting to provide support and resources to al Qaeda in  order to carry out attacks on U.S. soldiers overseas, the U.S.  attorney’s office in Boston said. He was arrested after an  undercover operation.
“The conduct alleged today shows that Mr. Ferdaus had long  planned to commit violent acts against our country,” U.S.  Attorney Carmen Ortiz said in a statement.
The statement said the public was never in danger from the  explosive devices, which were controlled by undercover FBI  employees.
If convicted Ferdaus faces up to 15 years in jail for  providing support to foreign terrorists, up to 20 years on a  charge of attempting to destroy national defense premises, and  up to 20 years on a charge of attempting to damage and destroy  buildings owned by the United States.
In a 42-page affidavit, authorities said the physics  graduate from Northeastern University in Boston began planning  to commit a violent “jihad” against the United States in early  2010, calling Americans “enemies of Allah.”
Ferdaus, of Ashland, Massachusetts, about 25 miles (40 km)  west of Boston, allegedly modified mobile phones to act as  electrical switches for improvised explosive devices. He is  accused of supplying the phones to the undercover FBI agents,  whom he believed were members of, or recruiters for, al Qaeda.
“During a June 2011 meeting, he appeared gratified when he  was told that his first phone detonation device had killed  three U.S. soldiers and injured four or five others in Iraq.  Ferdaus responded, ‘That was exactly what I wanted,'” the  affidavit said.
Ferdaus allegedly told a cooperating witness that he  planned to attack the Pentagon using “small drone airplanes”  filled with explosives and guided by GPS equipment. He later  expanded the plot to include an attack on the U.S. Capitol, and  hoped to follow up the aerial assault with a ground assault  involving six people armed with automatic weapons, according to  the affidavit.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Authorities said Ferdaus traveled to Washington to conduct  surveillance and take photographs of his target, and identified  sites at East Potomac Park, near the Capitol, from which he  planned to launch his explosive-filled aircraft.
He then delivered two thumb drives to the undercover agents  with detailed attack plans with step-by-step instructions as to  how he planned to attack the Pentagon and Capitol, they said.
An F-86 Sabre remote-controlled aircraft — a small-scale  version of a U.S. fighter jet — was delivered to Ferdaus’  Framingham, Massachusetts, storage unit last month, according  to the affidavit.
Ferdaus allegedly ordered the plane using the alias “Dave  Winfield.”
Ferdaus’ arrest came immediately after he took possession  of various weaponry from the undercover agents — including  explosives, grenades and AK-47 assault rifles — and brought  them to and locked them in his storage unit, the affidavit  said.
Peter King, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives  Committee on Homeland Security, said the arrest showed “that  the threat of Islamic terrorism transcends socioeconomics and  does not only emanate from the poor and under-privileged.”
“Ten years after the attacks of 9/11, al Qaeda, its  affiliates, and its adherents remain committed to attacking the  U.S. homeland,” said the New York Republican, citing domestic  radicalization and the threat of ‘lone wolf’ extremists.
Ferdaus, who is being held without bail, did not enter a  plea at an initial status hearing in U.S. District Court in  Worcester. A detention hearing was set for Monday.