Illinois man charged in Federal office terror plot

by smkovalinsky | September 24, 2009 at 04:05 pm

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An Illinois man is in police custody and charged with plotting to bomb federal offices there. He was arrested in Springfield and was conspiring to use "weapons of mass destruction" to kill office workers and federal employees. He was captured while trying to detonate explosives with his cell phone.

The man was employed as a restaurant cook and was known to police for his idolization of terrorist figures, after converting to Islam:

WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - An Illinois man was ordered held on Thursday on charges he tried to blow up a federal building in the state capital, a case unrelated to the New York terrorism plot.
Michael Finton, also known as Talib Islam, was arrested in Springfield, Illinois, and charged with attempted murder of federal officers or employees and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction, charges that carry a life sentence.

"Fortunately, a coordinated undercover law enforcement effort was able to thwart his efforts and ensure no one was harmed," David Kris, assistant Attorney General for National Security, said in a statement.

Finton was arrested on Wednesday in Springfield as he used a cell phone to try to detonate the bomb he believed was inside a van he had just parked outside the federal building.

Appearing in a courtroom on Thursday in the same building he is accused of targeting, Finton waived his right to a detention hearing.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Byron Cudmore appointed a public defender to represent Finton and ordered him held pending an indictment by a grand jury.

Source: reuters.com