A would-be-terrorist who harbored detailed plans to storm into the White House using an anti-tank rocket was arrested Wednesday, authorities said according to i24news.tv.
Hasher Jallal Taheb, 21, of Cumming, Georgia was arrested after unknowingly exchanging his vehicle for weapons and explosives with an FBI agent as part of a sting operation.
He is set to be charged with attempting to damage or destroy a building owned by the United States with fire or an explosive, according to US Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Taheb had an attorney who could comment on the allegations, according to the Associated Press.
The FBI was contacted by a local law enforcement agency after receiving a tip in March that Taheb may have been radicalized, had changed his name and planned to travel abroad to territory controlled by the Islamic State, an FBI affidavit revealed.
According to the affidavit, Taheb had met with the FBI agents on several occasions in the last month and in one exchange had said that “if they were to go to another country, they would be one of many, but if they stayed in the United States, they could do more damage.”
He added that he wanted “to do as much damage as possible” and expected to be a “martyr.”
Following the exchange of weapons from the undercover agent, he said he planned to drive directly to Washington and carry out an attack.
The US has been mostly spared from ISIS inspired attacks that have plagued Europe in recent years.
