Here we go again. It is by now a staple of the Leftist/Islamic supremacist narrative that the FBI, to justify its huge counter-terror budget, goes around trumping up jihad terror plots by coaxing impressionable young Muslims into misunderstanding their religion and believing that it enjoins violence against unbelievers. The big problem with this oft-repeated claim is that it is almost always belied by the words of the perpetrators themselves, as in this case — words that show that the perp was in control of his actions, knew what he was doing, and wanted to kill for Allah. Also: could you be coaxed into committing mass murder? Would you do it for love or money or anything at all? The fact that these Muslims agreed to participate in the plot is evidence of their guilt.
“‘He is one of the most peace-loving people I know’: Father of Ohio-born Muslim convert, 20, ‘who planned to detonate pipe bombs in the U.S. Capitol’ insists his son is a ‘momma’s boy,'” by Lydia Warren and Snejana Farberov, MailOnline, January 15, 2015:
A radicalized Muslim convert from Ohio who was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly plotting a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol is a ‘peace-loving momma’s boy’, his father has insisted.
Christopher Lee Cornell, 20, had planned to detonate pipe bombs in the U.S. Capitol before opening fire on fleeing government officials in December 2015, according to a criminal complaint.
But his father isn’t buying it – and says he believes the FBI set his son up.
‘They’ve already painted him as some kind of terrorist,’ John Cornell told the Cincinnati Enquirer. ‘(Christopher) is one of the most peace-loving people I know.’
Speaking from their home in Green Township, Cornell, 60, claimed his son was a ‘momma’s boy who never left’ their apartment and said he still loves him despite the charges.
‘I think he was a really vulnerable kid, just a big kid,’ he said.
His mother, Angela Carmen, added to WCPO: ‘He was a good kid, I mean, he would do anything in the world for you. He would not hurt nobody.’
His father told CNN: ‘His best friend is his kitty cat. There’s no way he could have carried out any kind of terrorist plot. He didn’t even drive; he didn’t have a car.’
Cornell added to ABC that he does not think his son could have devised a terror plot on his own and believes that an FBI informant, with whom his son allegedly exchanged messages and met in person, duped him.
‘He told me he had went to a mosque and now I know, in hindsight I know, he was meeting with an FBI agent,’ he said. ‘And they were taking him somewhere, and they were filling his head with a lot of this garbage.’
The parents added that he only had around $1,200 in his bank account – not enough to fund a terror plot or pay for the two guns he bought before his arrest on Wednesday.
‘These guns cost almost $2,000. Where did that money come from? Well, it came from the FBI,’ his father said. ‘They set him up.’
After high school, where he was a wrestler, Cornell worked at Kohl’s and spent a lot of time playing video games in his room, his parents said. At the time of his arrest he was unemployed.
They believe their son took an interest in Islam about two months ago – which contradicts the FBI’s narrative.
Cornell Sr., who is himself not a Muslim, said his son attended Masjid Abue Baker Siddikue mosque in South Fairmount and had found peace in the religion.
After turning to Islam, Christopher Cornell became a target for bullies because of his long beard and tradition Muslim clothing, and his father said he discouraged him from talking about it too much in case he offended others. Still, the older Cornell said he supported his son’s religion.
‘Hey, that’s my son and I love him just the same,’ he said.
His parents said the first they knew of his arrest or alleged criminal plot was when the FBI turned up at their door on Wednesday and seized their son’s electronic devices.
Christopher Cornell, also known as Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah, was arrested by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, after leaving a gun store on Wednesday morning….
I believe that we should just wage jihad under our own orders and plan attacks and everything,’ Cornell allegedly wrote in August. ‘I believe we should meet up and make our own group in alliance with the Islamic State here and plan operations ourselves.’
In instant messages to the undercover informant, Cornell indicated that while he did not have support to conduct an attack on behalf of any group, ‘we already got a thumbs up from the Brothers over there and Anwar al Awlaki before his martyrdom and many others’….