“Defense attorneys have argued that Martinez was not capable of carrying out an attack on his own and was caught in a government sting operation.” Nonsense. He went along, and went along willingly. What would it take to get you to go along with a plot to commit mass murder? Would any enticement be sufficient? These claims of entrapment need to be rejected decisively; if they aren’t, antiterror efforts will be hamstrung even more than they are now. And maybe that is the point.
An update on this story. “Not guilty plea in Md. bomb case,” by Maria Glod for the Washington Post, January 7:
A 21-year old Baltimore man accused of plotting to blow up a military recruiting station pleaded not guilty to the charges Friday.
Antonio Martinez appeared in a brief hearing in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
Authorities said Martinez, who recently converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Hussain, was determined to kill members of the military who he saw as a threat to Muslims. The FBI learned of Martinez’s intentions through Facebook and an informant, joined the plot and supplied him with a fake car bomb that he tried to detonate.
Defense attorneys have argued that Martinez was not capable of carrying out an attack on his own and was caught in a government sting operation.