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FBI Arrests Man Who Planned Fourth of July Attack in Ohio

by VOA News

   The FBI says it has arrested a man who had discussed carrying out a
   terror plot during Fourth of July celebrations in Cleveland, Ohio.

   The man, Demetrius Pitts, who had expressed allegiance to al-Qaida, was
   arrested Sunday after meeting with an undercover FBI agent whom he told
   that he planned to plant a bomb at a parade celebrating the American
   Independence Day, U.S. officials said.

   "Pitts' statements of violent intentions continue to cause concern
   during the investigation as he expressed a willingness to conduct a
   U.S.-based attack and also a desire in wanting to join a foreign
   terrorist organization," Stephen Anthony, FBI special agent in charge,
   Cleveland Office, told a news conference Monday.

   "His Facebook posts, quite frankly, were disturbing. They included
   verbiage that had words to the effect, 'we as Muslim need to start
   trending like this everyday, we need to know how to shoot guns, throw
   hand grenades, hand to hand combat'," he added.

   During the final meeting with an undercover agent Sunday, officials
   said Pitts expressed his desire to participate in a terror attack on
   the Fourth of July holiday in Cleveland, as well as his desire to kill
   military personnel, their families, and federal and local agents.

   "Pitts has been charged in federal court with one count with attempting
   to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist
   organization -- and in this case it's al-Qaida. The statutory maximum
   sentence for that charge is 20 years in prison," Justin Herdman, United
   States Attorney for the North District of Ohio, said in a press
   briefing Monday.

   Officias said Pitts, who is an American citizen and was radicalized in
   the United States, is expected to appear before a U.S. Magistrate later
   Monday.