Federal agents arrest man who allegedly planned suicide bombing on U.S. Capitol
By William Branigin and Del Quentin Wilber, Updated: Friday, February 17, 1:10 PM
washingtonpost.com
The FBI and the U.S. Capitol Police arrested a man Friday after a lengthy investigation into an alleged plot to carry out a suicide attack on the Capitol.
In a cryptic news release, the Capitol Police said the person was arrested “in the area of the U.S. Capitol” but that “at no time was the public or congressional community in any danger.”
The statement said the arrest “was the culmination of a lengthy and extensive operation during which the individual was closely and carefully monitored.”
The statement did not provide other details, but a U.S. official said a man in his 30s and of Moroccan descent was picked up near the Labor Department on his way to the Capitol for what he thought would be a suicide attack. He was carrying with him a vest supposedly packed with explosives, but the material actually was not dangerous, officials said.
The man thought undercover FBI agents assisting him were members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, officials said.
“We can confirm that there has been an arrest of a suspect in Washington, D.C. in connection with a terrorism investigation,” said Peter Carr, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride in Virginia, where the investigation is centered.
“The arrest was the culmination of an undercover operation during which the suspect was closely monitored by law enforcement,” Carr said in a statement. “Explosives the suspect allegedly sought to use in connection with the plot had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement and posed no threat to the public. Additional information will be forthcoming at the appropriate time.”
The Moroccan man entered the United States with a family member, and at some point, he came to the attention of the FBI, said a law enforcement official.
Undercover FBI agents gave the man inoperable explosives and a gun, and he was followed Friday into the District, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
The man was arrested in a parking lot near the Labor Department, which is just a few blocks from the Capitol, the man’s apparent target, according to the official. |
