Four arrested in NYC terror plot

I don’t get it. Who’d want to blow up Jewish temples and shoot down U.S. military aircraft? Oh, right.

The suspects were arrested shortly after planting a mock explosive device in the trunk of a car outside the Riverdale Temple and two mock bombs in the backseat of a car outside the Jewish Center, authorities said.

Cromitie is the son of an Afghani immigrant and his African-American wife. It is that connection to Afghanistan, investigators say, and an unhappiness with America’s ongoing war efforts abroad that allegedly drove him to become a terrorist.

In their efforts to obtain weapons, the defendants dealt with an informant acting under law enforcement supervision, and the FBI and other agencies monitored the defendants’ actions up to the time of arrest, including providing an inactive missile and inert explosives to the informant for the defendants. The Feds told CBS 2 HD’s Lou Young they picked up the inert weapons at a meeting in Stamford, Conn., and during the last few days secured small arms, including assorted handguns…

In talking to the FBI informant, Cromitie expressed interest in one day returning to Afghanistan, of dying a “martyr” and wanting to do “something to America”. When discussing the best targets, Cromitie allegedly told the infomant, “the best target (the World Trade Center) was hit already. When the conversation turned to attacking a synagogue, Cromitie allegedly said, “I hate those Jewish “expletie.” I would like to get a synagogue.

The suspects, according to the LA Times: “James Cromitie, also known as Abdul Rahman; David Williams, or Daoud; Onta Williams, or Hamza; and Laguerre Payen, or Amin.” The cops think they’re freelancers, unconnected to any terrorist group. They all have rap sheets for petty crimes, so speculation is that they got together through prison contacts. I wonder which of them, if any, were jailhouse converts.

The most interesting detail about the arrest is how far the cops let the plot proceed, to the point of letting them actually plant fake bombs in cars outside the temple. I’m sure that’s deliberate: There’s nothing new about police selling weapons to would-be jihadis to generate the “overt act” requirement for a conspiracy charge — that’s what sunk the Fort Dix Six — but the earlier the plot is busted up, the harder it is to convince a jury that the suspects really meant to do harm rather than just shoot their mouths off idly about some half-assed desire for jihad. (See, e.g., the Sears Tower case.) The NYPD took a calculated risk here; imagine the public outcry if the suspects had ditched the bomb plot at the last second and instead rushed into the temple with guns blazing. Thank god it worked out.

NY1 has a few highlights from the police presser. Click the image to watch.