Toledo terror plot
Encyclopedia
In February 2006, three men in Toledo, Ohio
(Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan Othman El-Hindi, and Wassim Mazloum) were arrested and charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists in Iraq and engage in violent jihad in their home town, as well as making verbal threats against the President of the United States. The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Toledo Joint Terrorism Task Force
, with the cooperation of an informant called 'The Trainer' who has a U.S. military background in security. The Cleveland FBI Special Agent in Charge C. Frank Figliuzzi
and the U.S. attorney's general office credited the local Muslim and Arab-American community for passing along the information that lead to the arrest of the three terror suspects.
During a February 2006 press briefing in Washington DC in the presence of the Deputy Director of the FBI John Pistole, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
accused the men of educating themselves on how to make and use explosives and suicide bomb vests by downloading videos off the internet, seeking firearm training, conspiring to provide terrorist funds abroad by using Mazloum's car dealership as a cover for traveling to and from Iraq, and making verbal threats against the President of the United States.
This plot was mentioned as one of three examples of homegrown terrorism in a speech by the director of the FBI Robert Mueller
on 23 June 2006 on the morning that the Miami bomb plot to attack the Sears Tower was announced.
On 15 December 2007 Mohammad Zaki and two cousins Zubair Ahmed, Khaleel Ahmed, received indictments on further terrorism charges of conspiring to kill, kidnap or maim persons outside of the United States, including US military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, including taking weapons training, doing bodybuilding exercises and taking steroids, allegedly to prepare for attacks.
A 2011 NPR
report claimed some of the people associated with this group were imprisoned in a highly restrictive Communication Management Unit
.
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
(Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan Othman El-Hindi, and Wassim Mazloum) were arrested and charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists in Iraq and engage in violent jihad in their home town, as well as making verbal threats against the President of the United States. The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Toledo Joint Terrorism Task Force
Joint Terrorism Task Force
A Joint Terrorism Task Force is a partnership between various U.S. law enforcement agencies that is charged with taking action against terrorism, which includes the investigation of crimes such as wire fraud and identity theft...
, with the cooperation of an informant called 'The Trainer' who has a U.S. military background in security. The Cleveland FBI Special Agent in Charge C. Frank Figliuzzi
C. Frank Figliuzzi
Frank Figliuzzi is currently the Assistant Director for Counterintelligence at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Figliuzzi was previously the Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cleveland Division which includes all of northern Ohio, and the major cities of...
and the U.S. attorney's general office credited the local Muslim and Arab-American community for passing along the information that lead to the arrest of the three terror suspects.
During a February 2006 press briefing in Washington DC in the presence of the Deputy Director of the FBI John Pistole, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Alberto Gonzales
Alberto R. Gonzales was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Attorney General in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Hispanic government official ever...
accused the men of educating themselves on how to make and use explosives and suicide bomb vests by downloading videos off the internet, seeking firearm training, conspiring to provide terrorist funds abroad by using Mazloum's car dealership as a cover for traveling to and from Iraq, and making verbal threats against the President of the United States.
This plot was mentioned as one of three examples of homegrown terrorism in a speech by the director of the FBI Robert Mueller
Robert Mueller
Robert Swan Mueller III is the 6th and current Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation .-Early life:...
on 23 June 2006 on the morning that the Miami bomb plot to attack the Sears Tower was announced.
On 15 December 2007 Mohammad Zaki and two cousins Zubair Ahmed, Khaleel Ahmed, received indictments on further terrorism charges of conspiring to kill, kidnap or maim persons outside of the United States, including US military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, including taking weapons training, doing bodybuilding exercises and taking steroids, allegedly to prepare for attacks.
A 2011 NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
report claimed some of the people associated with this group were imprisoned in a highly restrictive Communication Management Unit
Communication Management Unit
Communication Management Unit is a recent designation for a self-contained group within a facility in the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons that severely restricts, manages and monitors all outside communication of inmates in the unit.-Origins:As part of the Bush Administration's War on...
.