Terror Plot in South Carolina? UPDATED One Bomb Was 'Ready to Go' UPDATED What Terrorism?
A highway outside Charleston, South Carolina has been closed for several hours after police stopped a vehicle and found explosives in the trunk.
Julie Johnson, assistant special agent-in-charge for the FBI in Columbia, said there was "no immediate threat," according to The (Charleston) Post and Courier.
Law enforcement officials closed the road about 7 p.m. after the traffic stop in Goose Creek, home to the Naval Weapons Station. The station houses the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig, a military prison where enemy combatants have been held.
Johnson said the FBI was still trying to determine whether a crime had been committed but that there was "no immediate threat" related to the traffic stop.
South Carolina law enforcement Chief Robert Stewart told The Associated Press that his officers were on the scene, but that the FBI was handling the case and he did not elaborate. Source.
The investigation is continuing, naturally.
Michelle Malkin is posting info that the car had Florida tags and that the two men were of "Middle Eastern" descent.
Stay tuned.
Also blogging:
***Updated***: Via The Corner on National Review Online:
Two men are being held in the Berkeley County Detention Center after police find exploisve making devices in their car. The men had at least one ready to go bomb and bomb making materials that include chemicals. The men 21-year-old Yousef Megahed and 24-year-old Ahmed Mohamed were pulled over Saturday evening during a routine traffic stop near Myers Road and Highway 176. Among the explosive devices found were igniters and fusers. Few details about the suspects are known at this time. They are believed to be students at Florida College. They are of Middle Eastern descent and are not US citizens. Neither man has been charged, but charges are expected Monday.
The FBI has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow at 1130 hours. I guess we'll get some more details then.
***UPDATED***: The Corner on National Review Online again via Curt:
State authorities in South Carolina are saying there will be a press conference later this morning to announce charges. The FBI, meanwhile, seems to be throwing cold water on the whole incident — sometimes they do that because it really is a false alarm, but they have also been known, much like the mainstream media, to understate things when Muslims are involved, so we'll just have to see.
Here's what I think the reporting indicates at this point. In the late evening on Saturday, two non-Americans of Middle Eastern descent, Ahmed Mohamed and Yousef Megahed, who appear to be in the U.S. to pursue engineering studies in Florida, were pulled over for speeding in a van on Highway 176 in Goose Creek, near Charleston, South Carolina. Goose Creek is home to the United States Naval Weapons Station, which, among other things, houses the brig where some U.S. citizens alleged to be unlawful enemy combatants have been held.
One of the men reportedly tried to hide a laptop computer. Police became suspicious. Eventually, the vehicle was searched. Initially, there was a report that one completed bomb and other explosives related compounds were found. Later reports indicate that police found PVC (polyvinyl Chloride) piping (which can be used in making pipe bombs but also has many other industrial uses), model rocket motors (model rocket engine igniters can also be used as charges for pipe bombs), and other "suspicious" materials which have not been revealed yet (to make pipe bombs you would need some kind of explosive substance).
Police closed the highway for several hours, well into Sunday morning. Moreover, at about 2:45 a.m., they did a controlled detonation of something — not yet described although it apparently sounded to witnesses like fireworks.
The FBI is said to be casting doubt on whether there really was a bomb. Based on what we think we know, this sounds to me like there could be a dispute about whether the components were assembled into something that would qualify under the federal bomb laws (18 USC Sec. 841) as an "explosive material" — as opposed to either (a) uncoupled "blasting agents" and "detonators," which might indicate an intention to assemble bombs, or (b) something totally innocent, which would suggest there has been misreporting about what was found in the van. I do not know whether South Carolina law defines bombs (or "explosive materials") the same way federal law does.
An FBI spokesman is also reported to have said there are no "links to terrorism." As the possession of a bomb would actually be an incident of terrorism, not merely a link to it, I have to think this means there is — at least as yet — no indication that the men being detained have ties to known foreign terrorist organizations. As the intelligence community's recently released NIE related, however, the mass availability of jihadist ideology (via the Internet in particular) is catalyzing jihadism even in the absence of formal connections to a group like al Qaeda. Thus, the lack of links to known terrorist groups would not be very comforting. I'd also observe that it's been less than two days since these guys were arrested (on a late Saturday night no less), so there has hardly been time yet to do a thorough investigation of their backgrounds and associations.
And more:
Ahmed Abda Sherf Mohamed, 24, and Youssef Samir Megahed, 21, have been charged by authorities in South Carolina with possession of an incendiary advice, a felony punishable by at least two and up to fifteen years' imprisonment. AP quotes the sheriff as saying: "They admitted to having what they said were fireworks. Based on the officer's judgment at hand, based on what he had seen, we judged it to be other than fireworks." Authorities remain tight-lipped about exactly what they found in the car. Their bomb technicians did detonate something seized from the car at 2:45 a.m. Sunday.
The two are engineering students at the University of South Florida's campus at Tampa — the same school where Prof. Sami al-Arian, while a computer science professor USF's College of Engineering, was running an outpost of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization. Al-Arian pled guilty in 2006 to conspiring to provide services to PIJ. The FBI, it should be noted, has not altered its earlier statement that no terror ties have been established.
So, is this a big deal, after all? The MSM isn't covering at all (typically) and the FBI is downplaying, although they do that a lot when terrorism is involved and there may be more suspects out there. CNN seems to be saying that the "explosives" were really "fireworks" but it makes you wonder why two non-citizen Middle Eastern men from Florida were driving in South Carolina with a trunk full of "fireworks" and related material.
The bomb squad being involved doesn't make it a big deal, in and of itself. A street cop would call the bomb squad if they found anything suspicious, whether it turned out to be serious or not. That keeps non-bomb squad types from handling things that explode and make loud noises because they "weren't sure".
So, there are two scenarios here, in my view:
It was nothing but fireworks and, therefore, nothing serious. But, the last time I caught people with fireworks, they weren't arrested for "possession of an incendiary device." They got a ticket, had their toys seized, and went on their way. If they really were carrying "fireworks", it was one serious bottle rocket, hence the charges. This scenario, though possible, just doesn't seem likely to me, at this point.
Or...
It was something and the FBI are playing it down in the hunt for more suspects or "devices" or further investigation. It does seem odd that these guys are well away from home, near a military base (which a-Q is knows to target), and in possession of incendiary devices. I don't believe in coincidences, personally, especially when it comes to crooks or terrorists.
Time will tell on this one, folks.
**UPDATED***: From Hot Air:
Two Egyptian nationals [Some reports claim one is from Kuwait. — ed.] stopped for speeding in South Carolina Saturday evening were carrying precursor chemicals, used in improvised bomb-making as well in as model rocketry, lengths of plastic pipe and twists of hobby fuse, and model rocket launchers, according to investigators…
When stopped along I-76 at 6 p.m., about seven miles from a U.S. Navy weapons station, the driver, who said he was a hydro-engineering major at South Florida University, told a deputy he was carrying explosives. When a bomb technician and additional officers arrived, the driver stated he and his passenger were using the materials to make homemade rockets…
In the vehicle, investigators say they found potassium chlorate and sugar, which when combined with a catalyst create what has been dubbed “instant fire” releasing heat, flames and smoke in a spectacular fashion. As a result, they are used in making fireworks and as a fuel for model rockets.
In addition a can of gasoline, PVC pipe, four hobby store brand rocket launchers and hobby store brand fuses were found, investigators said. The four PVC pipes contained an unknown substance. Also taken into evidence was a laptop computer, a GPS unit and Trac cellular telephones.
Hmmm. GPS. A laptop they tried to hide. Ingredients for an incendiary device or "instant fire", plus PVC pipe. Are they using the we-just-like-model-rockets bit as a cover or is it that innocent?
Looking at from two to fiftenn years in prison? You tell me.
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