Yes, the president of the United States gets death threats. It’s just the nature of the job. Someone out there didn’t vote for you, hates you, and wants you to die. We’re a nation of 300+ million people. There are more than a few folks out there with screws loose. For one Georgia resident, reality hit fast when federal agents broke up his alleged plot to attack the Trump White House with a variety of explosives. One of which was an anti-tank rocket.
BREAKING: Georgia man suspected of plotting attack against White House for TOMORROW arrested by FBI. Man had "hand-drawn diagram of ground floor of the West Wing"
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) January 16, 2019
The individual was suspected of being radicalized and the FBI acted upon this information from a tipster (via Atlanta Journal-Constitution):
Hasher Jallal Taheb, 21, of Cumming, was taken into custody in Gwinnett County while allegedly trying to exchange his vehicle for explosives. He later appeared in court in downtown Atlanta in the case brought by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. Authorities said Taheb was acting alone and they made no accusation that he had ties to any terrorist group. He was arrested after a tip from a resident who said the young man had been radicalized.
Taheb’s alleged attack on the White House was supposed to take place around Thursday and involve various explosives and firearms, though even days before he claimed he had still never fired a gun in his life, according to the criminal complaint. He said he could learn fast, the document said. Authorities also said he planned to travel to the Islamic State territory but acknowledged he didn’t have a passport.
“All potential threats have been neutralized and were under control from the inception of this case,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak, who added that authorities would take no questions on the investigation, which is ongoing.
The criminal complaint accuses Taheb of plotting to destroy a government building, which is punishable by five to 20 years. The document said a community member contacted law enforcement in March 2018 about him.
The investigation into Taheb goes back months. He put his car up for sale allegedly to buy the weapons in August of last year. Federal agents posed as terrorists in the sting. Taheb allegedly wanted to use a rocket to gain access to the West Wing and use the remaining explosives and firearms to kill as many people as possible (via USA Today):
Federal agents posing as potential terrorists and munitions sellers arrested a Georgia man in a plot to blast his way into the West Wing of the White House with an anti-tank rocket, according to court papers and prosecutors.
Hasher Jallal Taheb, 21, of Cummings, Georgia, met with undercover agents on Wednesday and traded his car for semi-automatic assault rifles, remote-controlled explosives and grenades, and an anti-tank rocket, according to an FBI affidavit.
He planned to blow out a door of the West Wing to gain entry, using as many weapons as possible to inflict carnage, court papers said. He also told at least one agent that he wanted to fire a rocket at the Statue of Liberty, the FBI said.
Well, that isn’t going to happen thanks to law enforcement’s good work.
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