The would-be jihad mass murderer
Loewen “became radicalized after reading extremist Islamic material on the Internet,” according to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.
“Wichita man arrested, planned suicide bombing at Mid-Continent Airport,” by Tim Potter for the Wichita Eagle, December 13:
A Wichita man has been charged in federal court with attempting to explode a car bomb at Wichita MC Airport, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.
Terry Lee Loewen, 58, of Wichita, is charged in a criminal complaint field today in federal court in Wichita. With one count of trying to use a weapon of mass destruction, one count of attempting to damage property and one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Loewen, who works as an avionics technician, is alleged to have spent months developing a plan to use his access card to airport grounds to drive a van loaded with explosives to the terminal.
He planned to pull the triggers on the explosives himself and to die in the explosion.
Agents arrested Loewen about 5:40 a.m. Friday after he attempted to enter the airport tarmac and deliver a vehicle loaded with what he believed to be high explosives.
Members of the FBI”s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) took him into custody without incident.
“There was no breach of Mid-Continent Airport’s security” said Grissom. “At no time was the safety of travelers or members of the public placed in jeopardy.”
Loewen has been under investigation by the Wichita Joint Terrorism Task Force since early 2013.
It is alleged he made statements that he was resolved “to commit an act of violent jihad” against the United States. over a period of months, he took a serious series of actions to advance the plot.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Loewen:
“¢ Studied the layout of the airport and took photographs of access points.
“¢ Researched flight schedules.
“¢ Assisted in acquiring components for the car bomb.
“¢ Talked about his commitment to trigger the device and martyr himself.
On Friday, Loewen went to Mid-Continent Airport to detonate the car bomb. He was taken into custody when he attempted to open a security access gate….