Terror in America: What Happened Just Last Week
Sun, July 3, 2016
Daphne Ann and Alan Lewis Crawford (Photo: video screenshot)
Massachusetts
Alexander Ciccolo, 23, who went by the name of
Ali Al Amriki, was indicted for a plot to bomb a state university. His father, a Boston police captain, said his son -- a convert to Islam -- wanted to join the Islamic State.
Ali Al Amriki, was indicted for a plot to bomb a state university. His father, a Boston police captain, said his son -- a convert to Islam -- wanted to join the Islamic State.
Ciccolo also received four guns from a witness cooperating with the Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force. Prosecutors say the witness spoke with Ciccolo about his plans, inspired by the Islamic State, to use improvised pressure cookers as bombs.
In recorded conversations, he said he was planning to fill the pressure cookers with nails, ball bearing and glass and set them off in a crowded place on campus – perhaps a cafeteria. Prosecutors also noted that Ciccolo was seen buying a pressure cooker similar to those used by the Boston bombers.
Ciccolo, who was arrested last July and held without bail, was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and attempting to use weapons of mass destruction.
Arizona
An 18-year old Arizona man wasarrested on terrorism charges. Mahim Khan, from Tucson, stands accused by the FBI of plotting acts of terror against government buildings in two counties.
Other than announcing that Khan’s plans did not involve targeting Fourth of July activities, no other details were available. For the time being, the court records of Khan’s initial appearance have been sealed.
Khan lived with his family in a gated community in north Tucson close to the Catlina Foothills.
Arkansas
A woman in Arkansas was indicted on first-degree terrorism threatening for making an online threat to kill another individual as well as the individual’s family with a firearm, a federal charge.
Daphne Ann Crawford, 29, a convert to Islam who also goes by the name of Umm Ammara Khalid and was arrested along with her husband, Alan, also a convert. They were also found to be in possession of drugs and firearms, including three AR-15 assault rifles, a 12-gauge shotgun, six handguns and close to 2,000 rounds of ammunition, including 721 rounds for the assault rifles.
Events leading to the arrests unfolded after the Crawfords got into an argument at a restaurant with the staff. A customer posted a comment on Facebook about the incident to which Crawford replied by sending a picture of her husband dressed in Middle Eastern clothes and holding an assault rifle.
The picture was accompanied by a threat to shoot the customer and the customer’s family.
Last December, the couple made headlines when they were escorted out a mall for filming the entrances and exits to the mall. It is against the policy of the mall to video inside the premises. At the time, Alan Crawford told a local station, KFSM. "Co-exist. Spread love not hate," Crawford said. "This is what this world is about. Whether you are Christian, Jewish, atheist, I don't care. Spread love not hate. I don't care what religion you are. Killing someone for your religion is wrong, completely wrong."
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