Man Charged by FBI for Plotting Bomb Attack on Kansas Military

John T. Booker, Jr., who also calls himself Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, aged 20, was arrested on Friday for planning a bomb attack on Fort Riley military base, also known as the “Big Red One”, 70 miles away from Topeka, in Kansas. He is accused of having plotted the detonation of a bomb to serve the Islamic State militant group.
He is said to have been arrested on the 10th of April, outside the military base, while he was attempting to detonate a supposedly very destructive car bomb. This is the first attempted attack at Fort Riley, according to the Feds. The security staff at the base were aware of the investigation. Booker was recruited by the U.S. army in 2014 and he was supposed to have his basic training in 2014. It appears that his intentions were to commit mass destruction ever since then. However, according to the officials, the weapon was inert.
His charges are the attempting to plot a suicide attack at a military base, the intent to destroy property and trying to give material support to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The FBI also arrested Alexander E. Blair, aged 28 who is thought to have helped Booker store the bomb.
It seems that Booker had been planning a suicide attack for a long time. He told the FBI that he had acted as a representative of the terrorist group because his wish was for American soldiers to die in a violent attack to which he could contribute, so that he could “see the fear” in their looks as he “pushed the button and they ran for their lives”. He also added that the Quran justifies these acts as long as they involve the murder of enemies.
Officials say that the FBI was aware of Booker’s intentions ever since March 15, 2014, when he posted on his Facebook page that he would soon be leaving. He said that his desire to wage jihad is more important than his life and that he was prepared to die for the cause he believed in.
Imam Omar Hazim from the Islamic Center of Topeka said that Booker had been brought to him before the attempted attack, in 2014, by two federal agents who told him that he suffered from bipolar disorder. This disorder caused Booker to act strangely and have disturbing mood swings. In Hazim’s view, Booker should not have been allowed to move freely in the community without getting further help. However, representatives of the attorney’s office in Kansas refused to make any remarks regarding Hazim’s comments.
Booker appeared in front of a federal judge on Friday, the 10th of April. He answered questions and constantly corrected the grammar mistakes that his alter-ego, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan made. He will remain jailed until his case is considered by a grand jury.
Reports show that this is the seventh case this month in which someone is accused of providing material support in the previous ten days. A man from Wisconsin, a woman from Philadelphia, a U.S. Air Force veteran, an Illinois Army National Guard soldier and three Brooklyn residents were accused of providing material support to ISIS.
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