You sometimes might wonder whether these FBI stings are interrupting serious plots or not, but not in this case. An Islamist was arrested in Florida and charged with one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. And to prove he wasn’t some poor, misguided fool who allowed the FBI to talk him into something he really didn’t want to do, the terrorist made a video explaining why he wanted to initiate a mass killing of Americans.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Sami Osmakac, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in the former Yugoslavia, was arrested Saturday night.
Osmakac, from Pinellas County, allegedly told an undercover agent that “We all have to die, so why not die the Islamic way?'” according to a federal complaint.
FBI agents arrested Osmakac on Saturday after he allegedly bought explosive devices and firearms from an undercover agent. The firearms and explosives were rendered inoperable by law enforcement. The federal complaint says that shortly before his arrest, Osmakac made a video of himself explaining his motives for carrying out the planned violent attack.
He has been charged with one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. His first appearance in federal court is scheduled for Monday at 2 p.m. ET.
Sources close to the investigation told Fox News that Osmakac was being “closely monitored by law enforcement” for months in what authorities have described as a “sting operation.”
Federal officials said a confidential source told them in Sept. 2011 that Osmakac wanted Al Qaeda flags. Two months later, the federal complaint said, Osmakac and the confidential source “discussed and identified potential targets in Tampa” that Osmakac wanted to attack.
He has a ready made defense for a good lawyer; planning a suicide attack is almost by definition proof of mental incompetence. We should all hope that the court doesn’t let that happen. He knew the consequences of his planned attack — the death of dozens, or more. That should prove that he was competent enough to plan to the last detail how he was going to do it.
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