An Ohio man was arrested by FBI agents Wednesday and charged with planning a bomb attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Federal law enforcement officials were put on the trail of the suspect after he announced on Twitter his intentions to launch a “violent jihad.” He reportedly did so several times, posting “statements, videos and other content,” according to the FBI’s criminal complaint.
The suspect was identified as Christopher Lee Cornell, 20, of Green Township, which is in the Cincinnati area of Ohio. He was charged with plotting to kill government officials and with possession of a firearm. Cornell apparently didn’t get very far with his plan. The FBI statement said: “[T]he public was not in danger during this investigation.”
Cornell also goes by the name Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah. He reportedly plotted to attack the Capitol with pipe bombs and then open fire on it with a gun because “he considered members of Congress as enemies.” He bought two semi-automatic rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition in Ohio on Wednesday, at which point the FBI made its arrest.
The suspect was reportedly acting on behalf of Islamist extremists groups overseas, including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, according to his Twitter posts. An FBI informant said Cornell had contact with Anwar al Awlaki, the late U.S.-born Islamic fundamentalist leader, before the cleric was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2011. Cornell said Awlaki, whom he considered a “martyr,” had given his attack the “thumbs up.”
Nevertheless, Cornell was not acting under direct orders, according to the FBI. He reportedly told the informant: “I just believe we should wage jihad under our own orders and plan attacks and everything.”
