Farooque Ahmed

Farooque Ahmed (Urdu: فاروق احمد‎; born 1976) is a Pakistani American from Ashburn, Virginia who was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for plotting to bomb Washington Metro stations at Arlington cemetery, Pentagon City, Crystal City and Court House.[1][2][3] He was charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization, collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack on a transit facility, and attempting to provide material support to terrorists.[4] On April 11, 2011, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison after pleading guilty.[5]

Farooque Ahmed
فاروق احمد
Born1976 (age 44–45)
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
NationalityPakistani American
CitizenshipUnited States, formerly Pakistan
EducationCollege of Staten Island
EmployerEricsson
Criminal statusConvicted
Conviction(s)Attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization
Collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack on a transit facility
Criminal penalty23 years in prison
50 years of supervised release
Details
Target(s)Arlington Cemetery Metrorail station
WeaponsBomb
Date apprehended
October 27, 2010
Imprisoned atFCI Terre Haute, Terre Haute, Indiana, US

Background

Ahmed was born in Pakistan and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He was born in Lahore and became a U.S. citizen in 2002.[6] He has lived in the US since 1993.[3] He holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the College of Staten Island and worked as a network design contractor for Ericsson. He was enrolled in an online degree in risk management from Aspen University. He is married and has a son.[1] He has a history of several speeding violations and credit problems.[2] At his initial court appearance, he claimed that he could not afford a lawyer.[2]

Arrest
Arlington Cemetery (WMATA station) which was scouted by Ahmed.

According to the White House press secretary, Barack Obama was made aware of Ahmed's activities prior to his arrest.[7] Ahmed was arrested early on October 27, 2010. He was accused of scouting the Metrorail station in Arlington County, Virginia and recording video of the station on four occasions. In July, he handed over the footage to an individual who he believed to be an operative of Al-Qaeda.[2] According to the indictment, he told undercover agents that an attack would cause most casualties between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. and suggested placing the bombs in rolling suitcases. The plan of attack began as early as April 18, 2010, according to officials.[8][9]

He also told undercover agents that he would be ready to conduct jihad against America in January 2011 after completing Hajj in November 2010. At the time of his arrest, it did not appear that Ahmed had received any militant training overseas from Al-Qaeda or its associates. He told operatives that he was willing to martyr himself and had taught himself martial arts, use of firearms, and knife and gun tactics, skills he offered to teach others.[6]

Sentencing

On April 11, 2011, Ahmed was sentenced to 23 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack on a transit facility.[5] As a part of a plea bargain, the prosecutors dropped one of the charges and Ahmed who had faced up to 50 years in prison agreed to a 23-year sentence.[10]

See also

References
  1. Finn, Peter (October 28, 2010). "Man accused of Metro bomb plot". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  2. Tavernise, Sabrina (October 27, 2010). "Virginia Man Is Charged in Plot on Capital Subway". The New York Times. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  3. "DC 'bomb plot' man tried to contact militants, FBI says". BBC. October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  4. "Suspect arrested in U.S. for plotting subway attack". Xinhua News Agency. October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  5. Hedgepeth, Dana (April 11, 2011). "Va. man gets 23 years in plot to bomb Metro stations". Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  6. Gowen, Annie; Hsu, Spencer S. (October 29, 2010). "D.C. Metro terror suspect faces hearing". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  7. Caldwell, Alicia A. (October 28, 2010). "Virginia Man Allegedly Backed Fake DC Bomb Plot". Associated Press. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  8. Farooque Ahmed Arrested for Plot to Bomb Washington D.C. Metro Subway Archived 2010-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Perez, Evan (October 28, 2010). "Arrest in FBI Terror Sting". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  10. Vicini, James (April 11, 2011). "Pakistani-American gets 23 years for U.S. subway plot". Reuters Africa. April 11, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
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