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Would-Be Bomber Arrested In Kansas; Planned Suicide Attack on Ft. Riley

The Associated Press (as carried by the Boston Herald) reports that a 20-year old Topeka man has been arrested as he attempted to arm what he believed to be a thousand-pound bomb outside Ft. Riley, Kansas. John T. Booker Jr. is alleged to have planned an attack in conspiracy with others who were actually FBI agents; Booker's postings to Facebook in March 2014 about his desire to die as a martyr brought him to the FBI's attention, and the FBI sting operation which ended in his arrest began after these posts. Booker had been recruited by the U.S. Army in February of last year, but his enlistment was cancelled shortly thereafter.

7 of 297 comments (clear)

  1. Alternative title by whoever57 · · Score: 5, Informative
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    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  2. Re:masdf by cold+fjord · · Score: 1, Informative

    So once again some anonymous poster that is incompetent in dealing with a set of facts manages to get it wrong. This would-be jihadi made his intent clear, and tried to act on it. Did you not read the story?

    FTA

    Booker was recruited to join the Army in February 2014, but came to the attention of federal investigators after posting a Facebook message on March 19, 2014, that read: "Getting ready to be killed in jihad is a HUGE adrenaline rush! I am so nervous. NOT because I'm scared to die but I am eager to meet my lord."

    A 20-year-old man was arrested Friday while trying to arm what he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb near a Kansas military base as part of a plot to support the Islamic State group, federal prosecutors said.

    John T. Booker Jr. is accused of planning a suicide attack at Fort Riley .... Prosecutors allege he told an FBI informant he wanted to kill Americans and engage in violent jihad on behalf of the terrorist group, and said he believed such an attack was justified because the Quran "says to kill your enemies wherever they are," according to a criminal complaint.

    "It was alleged that he planned to pull the trigger of the explosives himself so that he would die in the explosion," U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Friday morning. "He told an individual that detonating a suicide bomb was his No. 1 aspiration because he couldn't be captured and all the evidence would be destroyed and he would be guaranteed to hit his target."

    If you want to try to "blame" that guy's attempted attack on the FBI then you don't understand what is going on. Could you spare us any more of those comments?

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    much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
  3. Entrapment by Darinbob · · Score: 1, Informative

    I'm sick of the FBI trying to convince us that they caught a terrorist, when all they really did was con someone into going along with their plan. These are most likely people who never would have attempted any of these actions if they had not been encouraged to do so. Often they FBI keeps working on the potential suspect for months, not accepting "no" for an answer until finally the potential suspect caves in.

    In other words, the job for these FBI agents seems to be to recruit someone as a terrorist. I'd feel better about them if they actually caught real terrorists instead of creating them. They're doing nothing more than increasing statistics in order to get bigger budgets and more approval from the naive public. So let's hold them accountable to one criminal count for entrapment and another criminal count for defrauding the government, and maybe some court ordered psychological evaluation.

  4. Re:masdf by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 5, Informative

    What is your evidence that he had mental problems?

    Apparently you didn't comprehend the story either. According the TFA, he was "mentally ill and was acting strangely only days before his arrest, according to a Muslim cleric who said he was counseling him at the request of the FBI.". The cleric went on to say that "the agents told him that Booker suffered from bipolar disorder, characterized by unusual mood swings that can affect functioning."

    So he had mental problems according to the FBI and the person that was counselling him.

  5. Re:masdf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    > Apparently you didn't comprehend the story either.

    Dude, its Cold Fjord, he has a mental illness where he only sees the most extremist right-wing version of anything he reads. His visual cortex is physical incapable of processing any words that might even hint at a more sane interpretation.

  6. Re:masdf by cold+fjord · · Score: 3, Informative

    Apparently you didn't comprehend the story either. According the TFA ...

    I am amused to inform you that you aren't quoting from TFA. If you follow the link in the story summary it brings you to a story that doesn't contain the paragraph you quote, or even a number of the key words. You are quoting from a different story at the same source. Since you didn't provide a link, allow me:

    Man charged with plotting bombing at Kansas military base

    So, it turns out that I comprehended the story, and you didn't. What you did do was bring in new facts in a different story from a reputable source, and helpful ones for the discussion.

    So yes, it appears he may be mentally ill. That doesn't make him less dangerous.

    Imam Omar Hazim of the Islamic Center of Topeka told The Associated Press that two FBI agents brought Booker to him early in 2014 for counseling, hoping to turn the young man away from radical beliefs. Hazim said the agents told him that Booker suffered from bipolar disorder, characterized by unusual mood swings that can affect functioning.

    Hazim said he expressed concerns to the FBI about allowing him to move freely in the community after their first encounter.

    If he is in fact mentally ill that potentially raises new difficultes involved with involuntary commitment or possible criminal defenses. In either case the state's position is much stronger since he attempted an attack rather than simply writing about it. There isn't much room for doubt that he is a danger to himself (suicide bomber) and the community.

    But there is more to it than that. It appears that there are more people involved in this plot. I doubt they will all be mentally ill. What will you have to say if it turns out to be 2 sane guys with different values and 1 mentally ill guy with different values? Even if this one individual is mentally ill, that doesn't necessarily mean that this plot wouldn't have been of interest to him if he wasn't.

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    much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
  7. Re:islamist radical? by cold+fjord · · Score: 1, Informative

    I doubt there would have been any attack unless he was "radicalized" by the FBI.

    The first of many holes in your theory is that the accused indicated his interest in dying in attacks before any contact with the FBI.

    .... came to the attention of federal investigators after posting a Facebook message on March 19, 2014, that read: "Getting ready to be killed in jihad is a HUGE adrenaline rush! I am so nervous. NOT because I'm scared to die but I am eager to meet my lord,"

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    He could have not had his enlistment in the US military canceled because of a Facebook post, and could have been taken in and counseled and put through boot camp instead of being manipulated like a foreign asset for months until he committed the crime that was orchestrated for him.

    Basic training provides instruction on basic military skills, including weapons. To provide that training he would be given weapons and ammunition. I can't believe you think that is a good idea. You know about the Fort Hood attack, don't you? There have been other attacks as well.

    The purpose of the military means it is best to keep people like him out.

    --
    much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell