WASHINGTON:The FBI announcedMonday the arrest of a professed supporter ofAl-Qaeda who was planning to target members of the US military and theirfamilies with a bomb attack on a July 4 parade in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Demetrius Nathaniel Pitts, whoalso used the name Abdur Raheem Rafeeq, told an undercover agent that hewanted to load up a vehicle with explosives and blow it up during the USnational day celebrations on Wednesday.link#_>
“His desire: to kill military personnel and their families,” said FBIspecial agent Steve Anthony.
FBI and Justice Department officials said Pitts, a US native with “anextensive criminal history” was arrested Sunday after discussing how tocarry out the attack with the undercover agent.
They had been watching him for months after he made statements in supportof Al-Qaeda and expressed “violent intentions” against groups including theUS armed forces, Anthony said.
“His Facebook posts, quite frankly, were disturbing,” he said.
They said he was focused on the possible locations of an attack and that itwas not clear whether he had the ability himself to acquire or build bombs.
Officials also said it was not clear if Pitts had a network inside theUnited States or abroad.
Pitts was charged with attempting to provide support to a designatedforeign terrorist organization.