“Two weeks ago, after news broke about Pugh’s arrest, she said she didn’t understand why people wanted to join ISIS overseas when there are ways of ‘pleasing Allah’ here in the United States, court documents say.” Yes. Watch for more of this.
“Two ISIS-Inspired Women Arrested in NYC for Allegedly Trying to Build Bomb,” by Mike Levine and Aaron Katersky, ABC News, April 2, 2015 (thanks to Anne Crockett):
Federal authorities have arrested two women who were allegedly planning to detonate a bomb somewhere in the United States after being radicalized at least in part by ISIS, sources familiar with the arrests told ABC News.
The public was never in danger, as it was all part of a lengthy undercover FBI operation. And court documents suggest any plotting was more aspirational than operational.
However, court documents cite direct connections to known or suspected terrorists inside the United States and overseas.
In August 2014, 28-year-old Noelle Velentzas became Facebook friends with Tairod Pugh, a U.S. Air Force veteran indicted two weeks ago for his own ISIS-inspired plans. Meanwhile, 31-year-old Asia Siddiqui “has had repeated contact with members of” Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen-based terrorist group behind several bomb plots targeting U.S.-bound planes.
Both were arrested earlier today without incident in Queens, N.Y., where they had been roommates until recently.
In meetings with an undercover FBI agent in recent months, Velentzas and Siddiqui allegedly discussed efforts to learn the “science” involved in building explosives, often analyzing previous bomb plots inside the U.S. — failed ones and successful ones, like the Oklahoma City bombing. In addition, they downloaded “The Anarchist Cookbook” and watched videos about building bombs, court documents allege.
Also in meetings with the undercover FBI agent, Velentzas expressed anger over U.S. airstrikes targeting ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and she suggested she and Siddiqui be referred to as “citizens of the Islamic State,” according to charging documents. She also allegedly watched ISIS propaganda videos with the undercover agent.
Two weeks ago, after news broke about Pugh’s arrest, she said she didn’t understand why people wanted to join ISIS overseas when there are ways of “pleasing Allah” here in the United States, court documents say.
She allegedly said she was looking “to make history,” and in late December she and the FBI agent discussed possible targets for a bombing.
“We are living … the last war, the big war before the end of day starts, in English they call it Armageddon, we are actually living in that time, it’s not a joke, it starts in Syria,” she allegedly told the undercover agent….