Texas man faces WMD charge

Lubbock man faces weapon of mass destruction charge

Domingo Ramirez Jr.
Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

A Lubbock man who is a native of Saudi Arabia was arrested Wednesday by FBI agents on a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in connection with his alleged purchase of material necessary to make an explosive device, and his research of potential U.S. targets.

Some of the targets included former President George W. Bush’s home in Dallas, at least 12 reservoir dams in Colorado and California and three American citizens who had previously served in the military and had been stationed for a time at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Authorities identified the suspect as Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20, a South Plains College student. South Plains College is in Levelland near Lubbock.

The arrest and the criminal complaint, which was unsealed in the Northern District of Texas in Dallas, were announced by David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security; James T. Jacks, U.S. attorney for the northern district of Texas; and Robert E. Casey Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI Dallas Field Division.

Aldawsari is expected to make his initial appearance at 9 a.m. Friday in federal court in Lubbock. Aldawsari was lawfully admitted into the United States in 2008 on a student visa.

If convicted, Aldawsari faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

"South Plains College has been notified by the Dallas Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that one of our students has been detained," said Dane Dewbre, the college's associate dean of college relations. "The FBI has assured us that there was no threat to any of our campus locations. South Plains College is cooperating fully with the FBI Dallas in their investigation."

Aldawsari had been researching online how to construct improvised explosive devices using several chemicals as ingredients, according to a federal affidavit.

He has also acquired or had taken a substantial step toward acquiring most of the ingredients and equipment necessary to construct an IED and he has conducted online research of several potential U.S. targets, according to the affidavit.

In addition, he has described his desire for violent jihad (or holy war) and martyrdom in blog postings and a personal journal, according to the affidavit.

"As alleged in the complaint, Aldawsari purchased ingredients to construct an explosive device and was actively researching potential targets in the United States," Kris said. "Thanks to the efforts of many agents, analysts and prosecutors, this plot was thwarted before it could advance further. This case serves as another reminder of the need for continued vigilance both at home and abroad."

The affidavit alleges that on Feb. 1, a chemical supplier reported to the FBI a suspicious attempted purchase of concentrated phenol by a man identifying himself as Khalid Aldawsari. According to the affidavit, phenol is a toxic chemical with legitimate uses, but can also be used to make the explosive trinitrophenol, also known as T.N.P., or picric acid. The affidavit alleges that other ingredients typically used with phenol to make picric acid, or T.N.P., are concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids.

Aldawsari allegedly attempted to have the phenol order shipped to a freight company so it could be held for him there, but the freight company returned the order to the supplier and called the police, the affidavit stated.

Later, Aldawsari falsely told the supplier he was associated with Texas Tech University and wanted the phenol for "off-campus, personal research." Frustrated by questions being asked over his phenol order, Aldawsari canceled the order and later e-mailed himself instructions for producing phenol. The affidavit alleges that in December he successfully purchased concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids.

One of the chemical companies Aldawsari contacted, Carolina Biological Supply in Burlington, N.C., said it reported suspicious purchases by him to the FBI on Feb. 1.

Con-way Freight issued a statement saying that its Lubbock office received a shipment the same day that it determined to be of a suspicious nature and notified Con-way's corporate security department, which then notified law enforcement authorities. The statement said the company had been working with authorities from the beginning.

According to the federal affidavit, legally authorized electronic surveillance revealed that Aldawsari used various e-mail accounts in researching explosives and targets, and often sent emails to himself as part of this process.

On Feb. 11, for instance, he emailed to himself a recipe for picric acid, which the email describes as a "military explosive." He also sent himself an email on Oct. 19 that contained information on the material required for Nitro Urea, how to prepare it, and the advantages of using it, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit alleges that Aldawsari also e-mailed himself instructions on how to convert a cellular phone into a remote detonator and how to prepare a booby-trapped vehicle using items available in every home.

One email contained a message stating that "one operation in the land of the infidels is equal to ten operations against occupying forces in the land of the Muslims," the affidavit says. During December and January, Aldawsari purchased many other items, including a gas mask, a Hazmat suit, a soldering iron kit, glass beakers and flasks, wiring, a stun gun, clocks and a battery tester, according to the affidavit.

Two searches of Aldawsari’s apartment by the FBI this month indicated that the concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids; the beakers and flasks; wiring; Hazmat suit; and clocks were present in Aldawsari's residence, authorities said.

FBI agents also found a notebook at Aldawsari's residence that appeared to be a diary or journal. According to the affidavit, excerpts from the journal indicate that Aldawsari had been planning to commit a terrorist attack in the United States for years.

One entry describes how Aldawsari sought and obtained a particular scholarship because it allowed him to come directly to the United State and helped him financially, which he said "will help tremendously in providing me with the support I need for Jihad." The entry continues: "And now, after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for Jihad," according to the affidavit.

In another entry, Aldawsari allegedly wrote that he was close to reaching his goal and to obtaining weapons to use against "infidels and their helpers." He also listed a "synopsis of important steps" that included obtaining a forged U.S. birth certificate; renting a car; using different driver's licenses for each car rented; putting bombs in cars and taking them to different places during rush hour; and leaving the city for a safe place.

According to the affidavit, Aldawsari conducted research on various targets and e-mailed himself information on these locations and people. One of the documents he sent himself, with the subject line listed as "Targets," contained the names and home addresses of three American citizens who had previously served in the U.S. military and had been stationed for a time at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

In another e-mail titled "NICE TARGETS 01," Aldawsari sent himself the names of 12 reservoir dams in Colorado and California. In another e-mail to himself, titled "NICE TARGETS," he listed two categories of targets: hydroelectric dams and nuclear power plants, the affidavit says.

On Feb. 6, the affidavit alleges, Aldawsari sent himself an e-mail titled "Tyrant's House," in which he listed the Dallas address for former President George W. Bush. The affidavit also alleges that Aldawsari conducted research that could indicate his consideration of the use of infant dolls to conceal explosives and possible targeting of a nightclub with an explosive concealed in a backpack.

The affidavit also alleges that Aldawsari created a blog in which he posted extremist messages. In one posting, he expressed dissatisfaction with current conditions of Muslims and vowed jihad and martyrdom. "You who created mankind ... grant me martyrdom for Your sake and make jihad easy for me only in Your path," he wrote.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Dallas Joint Terrorism Task Force, with assistance from the Lubbock Police Department.

"Yesterday's arrest demonstrates the need for and the importance of vigilance and the willingness of private individuals and companies to ask questions and contact the authorities when confronted with suspicious activities. Based upon reports from the public, Aldawsari's plot was uncovered and thwarted," Jacks, the U.S. attorney, said in a news release. "We're confident we have neutralized the alleged threat posed by this defendant."

Saudi suspect in terror plot appears in fed. court

Betsy Blaney
Associated Press
Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

LUBBOCK, Texas — The world is watching to see how the justice system treats a college student from Saudi Arabia who is accused of buying chemicals online as part of a plan to blow up key U.S. targets, his attorney said Friday.

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari appeared in federal court in Lubbock on Friday. He has been charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction after federal authorities said he bought explosive materials online and planned to hide them inside dolls and baby carriages to blow up dams, nuclear plants and former President George W. Bush's Dallas home.

Aldawsari's attorney, Rod Hobson, declined to comment as he left the courtroom but said in a statement that his client will plead not guilty. The "eyes of the world are on this case" and how Aldawsari is treated, Hobson said.

"This is not 'Alice in Wonderland,' where the Queen said 'First the punishment then the trial,'" Hobson said in his statement. "This is America, where everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence, due process, effective representation of counsel and a fair trial."

U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Koenig asked the 20-year-old Aldawsari - who was handcuffed with his feet shackled, and flanked by armed officers - if he understood the charges against him, and ordered him to remain in custody until a March 11 detention hearing. Aldawsari faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

Aldawsari, who was legally in the U.S. on a student visa, studied chemical engineering at Texas Tech University until January when he transferred to a nearby college to study business.

Prosecutors allege that he was influenced by 9/11 and speeches by Osama bin Laden and had secretly planned for years to launch a terrorist attack in the U.S. According to court documents released Thursday, he described in his journal a plan to travel to New York City, place bombs in several rental cars for remote detonation and leave the vehicles in different places during rush hour.

"After mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for jihad," or holy war, Aldawsari wrote in the journal, according to the documents filed by prosecutors.

Robert Casey, the FBI special agent in charge of the case, said Thursday there was a range of targets being considered.

"I can't speak to his state of mind or the priority in his mind of any of the range of targets we think we discovered," he said.

Federal authorities said a chemical company, Carolina Biological Supply of Burlington, N.C., reported $435 in suspicious orders by Aldawsari to the FBI on Feb. 1. Separately, Ann Arbor, Mich.-based shipping company Con-way Freight notified Lubbock police and the FBI the same day with similar suspicions because it appeared the order wasn't intended for commercial use.

Curtis Shewchuk, senior director of corporate security for Con-way, credited a dock worker and service center manager for flagging the package and triggering the company's Homeland Security escalation plan, which was developed shortly after 9/11 and has been in place for about seven years.

Within weeks, federal agents had traced Aldawsari's other online purchases, discovered extremist posts he made on the Internet and secretly searched his apartment, computer and e-mail accounts and read his diary, according to court records.

The White House said President Barack Obama was notified about the alleged plot before Aldawsari's arrest on Wednesday.

Hobson said that media coverage of the case had been "very one sided."

"I request that everyone take a step back and allow the legal proceedings to unfold in a timely and orderly fashion," he said in his statement. "This is a wonderful opportunity for us to show the world how truly fair our legal system is - even to those who are accused of trying to harm our country."

The court documents say Aldawsari wrote that he was planning an attack even before coming to the U.S. on a scholarship.

Tibor Nagy, Texas Tech's vice provost of international affairs and a former US ambassador to Ethiopia and Guinea, said students from other countries who want to attend college in the U.S. have many hoops to jump through.

They first must be selected by a sponsor - a Saudi industrial company not identified in court documents was paying Aldawsari's tuition and living expenses in the U.S. - and gain admittance to a school, then apply for a visa. Then government databases are checked, Nagy said.

"At the end of the day, it's the U.S. government who is the decider on whether or not a student shows up on campus," he said.

Representatives at the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C., and at the consulate in Houston did not immediately return calls for comment.

The case outlined in court documents is significant because it suggests radicalized foreigners can live quietly in the U.S. without raising suspicions from neighbors, classmates, teachers or others. But it also showed how quickly U.S. law enforcement can move when tipped that a terrorist plot may be unfolding. Casey declined to go into why the arrest occurred when it did.

"We think we have neutralized any other threats or imminent harm surrounding the actions that he's charged with, but the investigation is continuing," Casey said.