David Williams, one of the men arrested in an alleged terrorism plot, was escorted by federal agents f
rom 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan.
rom 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan.Four men arrested after planting what they thought were explosives near a synagogue and a Jewish centre and plotting to shoot down a military plane were bent on carrying out a holy war against America, authorities said today.
The suspects were arrested last night, shortly after planting a 37-pound (17-kilogram) 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, a few blocks away, authorities said.
Police blocked their escape with an 18-wheel truck, smashing their tinted SUV windows while apprehending the unarmed suspects.
At a news conference outside the Bronx temple, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly quoted one of the men as saying, "If Jews were killed in this attack that would be all right."
James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen, all of Newburgh, New York, were charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the United States and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, the U.S. attorney's office said.
"They stated that they wanted to commit Jihad," Kelly said. "They were disturbed about what happened in Afghanistan and Pakistan, that Muslims were being killed."
An official told The Associated Press that three of the men are converts to Islam. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation.
Three of the defendants are U.S. citizens and one is of Haitian descent, officials said. Payen occasionally attended a Newburgh mosque. His statements on Islam often had to be corrected, according to Assistant Imam Hamin Rashada, who met Payen through a program that helps prisoners re-enter society.
Courtesy: The Independent
The suspects were arrested last night, shortly after planting a 37-pound (17-kilogram) 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, a few blocks away, authorities said.
Police blocked their escape with an 18-wheel truck, smashing their tinted SUV windows while apprehending the unarmed suspects.
At a news conference outside the Bronx temple, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly quoted one of the men as saying, "If Jews were killed in this attack that would be all right."
James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen, all of Newburgh, New York, were charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the United States and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, the U.S. attorney's office said.
"They stated that they wanted to commit Jihad," Kelly said. "They were disturbed about what happened in Afghanistan and Pakistan, that Muslims were being killed."
An official told The Associated Press that three of the men are converts to Islam. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation.
Three of the defendants are U.S. citizens and one is of Haitian descent, officials said. Payen occasionally attended a Newburgh mosque. His statements on Islam often had to be corrected, according to Assistant Imam Hamin Rashada, who met Payen through a program that helps prisoners re-enter society.
Courtesy: The Independent
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