Hasher Jallal Taheb Arrested for Plotting Attack on White House with Explosives.
21-year-old Hasher Jallal Taheb has been arrested for planning an attack on the White House and other federal buildings in Washington, D.C.
The Georgia man reportedly had a “hand-drawn diagram” of the White House West Wing’s ground floor and planned to pack a backpack full of explosives to launch an attack.
Taheb was arrested after a year long investigation when the FBI received a tip that the Georgia man had been radicalized.
“His alleged intent was to attack the White House and other targets of opportunity in the Washington D.C. area by using explosive devices, including an improvised explosive device and anti-tank rocket,” U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Byung J. “BJay” Pak said.
The radicalized man “explained that jihad was an obligation, that he wanted to do as much damage as possible, and that he expected to be a ‘martyr,’ meaning he expected to die during the attack.”
Taheb had shown an undercover agent a hand-drawn diagram of the West Wing’s ground floor that detailed his plans for an attack.
He requested for the undercover agent to obtain the weapons and explosives for the planned attack.
Made it to Cumming -where federal authorities are executing a search warrant at the home of Forsyth man charged with plot to attack White House @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/Azw4b5fspE
— Alyssa Hyman (@AlyssaHymanWSB) January 16, 2019
“Taheb is charged as the result of a year-long investigation by FBI Atlanta’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. We want to thank the Forsyth County Sheriff Office and Gwinnett County Police Department for assisting us with his arrest. The investigation is continuing, but at this stage it is believed Taheb was acting on his own,” the Special Agent of Atlanta FBI stated.
Taheb is being charged with attempting to damage or destroy a building owned by the United States using fire or an explosive.