A 29-year-old Moroccan man was arrested on Friday near the U.S. Capitol as he was planning to detonate what he thought was a suicide vest, given to him by FBI undercover operatives, said police and government officials.
Amine El Khalifi of Alexandria, Virginia, was taken into custody with an inoperable firearm and inert explosives, according to a counter-terror official.
El Khalifi made a brief appearance on Friday afternoon in federal court in Alexandria, wearing a green shirt and black pants and holding his arms together behind his back. A judge set a bail hearing in his case for Wednesday.
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A criminal complaint charges him with knowingly and unlawfully attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property that is owned and used by the United States.
El Khalifi expressed interest in killing at least 30 people and considered targeting a building in Alexandria and a restaurant, synagogue and a place where military personnel gather in Washington before he settled on the Capitol after canvassing that area a couple of times, the counterterrorism official said. During the investigation, the official said, El Khalifi went with undercover operatives to a quarry in the Washington area to detonate explosives.
El Khalifi came to the U.S. when he was 16 years old and is unemployed and not believed to be associated with the al-Qaeda terror organization. He had been under investigation for about a year and had overstayed his visitor visa for years, according to the counter-terror official and a government official briefed on the matter who spoke on a condition of anonymity because the investigation is under way.
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A former landlord in Arlington said he believed El Khalifi was suspicious and called police 18 months ago.
Frank Dynda said when he told El Khalifi to leave, the suspect said he had a right to stay and threatened to beat him up. El Khalifi was evicted in 2010.
El Khalifi had several men staying with him and based on packages left for him, Dynda said, it appeared that he was running a luggage business from the apartment, although Dynda never saw any bags.
“I reported to police I think he’s making bombs,” Dynda said. “I was ready to get my shotgun and run him out of the building, but that would have been a lot of trouble.”
Police are close to arresting one of El Khalifi’s associates on charges unrelated to the alleged terror conspiracy, the counter-terror official said. The associate was said also to be a Moroccan, living in the United States illegally. Police are investigating others El Khalifi associated with, but not because they believe the associates were part of a terror conspiracy, the official said.
Two people briefed on the matter told The Associated Press he was not arrested on the Capitol grounds, and the FBI has had him under surveillance around the clock for several weeks. They spoke on a condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.