U.S. Capitol ISIS Attack: Cincinnati Man Chris Cornell Arrested In Pipe Bomb Plot, FBI Says
Ohio man Christopher Lee Cornell was arrested in connection to an alleged ISIS plot on the United States capitol in Washington, D.C. according to the F.B.I. Christopher Cornell, 20, allegedly planned to set off bombs targeting specific elected officials who he considered enemies.
Chris Cornell was planning to detonate pipe bombs and then open fire of panicked and fleeing staffers and lawmakers, according to court documents filed in conjunction with the F.B.I. arrest of the Cincinnati, Ohio, man. The alleged Ohio ISIS supporter first appeared on the F.B.I. radar several months ago after an informant alerted the federal agency to Christopher Cornell’s alleged U.S. capitol bomb plot. “I believe that we should just wage jihad under our own orders and plan attacks and everything. I believe we should meet up and make our own group in alliance with the Islamic State her and plan operations ourselves, [sic]” Cornell reportedly wrote in an online message to the F.B.I. informant in August.
Cornell reportedly created Twitter accounts under the alias Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah. The accused U.S. capitol pipe bomb plotter posted videos, messages, and “other content expressing support for the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq,” according to the FBI complaint.
John Cornell, the father of alleged ISIS pipe bomber Chris Cornell, told CNN that his son was discussing converting to Islam in recent days. Cornell said he could not recall the Muslim name his son had pondered taking, but noted that it had something to do with “being protected by God.” The Cincinnati man was a seasonal worker who was now out of work, according to his father. John Cornell also said that his son was often teased at work and got his feelings hurt easily. The elder Cornell said that his alleged ISIS supporter son had moved out of the home recently in the middle of the night, leaving a note for his parents regarding his whereabouts.
Anwar al-Awlaki “already got a thumbs up” for such ISIS terrorism attacks “before his martyrdom,” Christopher Cornell also reportedly wrote to the F.B.I. informant. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Anwar Awlaki was killed in a drone strike by the United States in 2011 after posting online, encouraging ISIS terrorism attacks in the West. The call to jihad was issued not long before President Barack Obama said al-Qaida was on the run and referred to ISIS as merely as “JV team.”
The FBI informant and Christopher Cornell reportedly met to discuss the ISIS attack utilizing pipe bombs, in Cincinnati in October and then again in November. The F.B.I. is claiming that the American ISIS supporter was never “in a position” to carry out the Washington, D.C., terror attack.
The transformation of #isis #terror suspect Christopher Cornell to Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah from 2012-2014. @WCPO pic.twitter.com/Rqv9sgfCra
— Tanya O’Rourke (@TanyaORourke) January 15, 2015
During the final meeting between Chris Cornell and the informant, the ISIS supporter allegedly called Congress an enemy and detailed his U.S. capitol attack plans. The Cincinnati man also reportedly said that he has been saving money to finance the ISIS attack and had researched how to build pipe bombs.
Earlier today Cornell began finalizing his ISIS attack plot and planned his trip to Washington, D.C. The Ohio man had allegedly purchased 600 rounds of ammunition and two M-15 semi-automatic rifles. Just several hours after the F.B.I. arrested Cornell, the Department of Homeland Security issued an alert to law enforcement agencies throughout the country notifying them about the ISIS pipe bombs plot.
“The alleged activities of Cornell highlight the continued interest of US-based violent extremists to support designated foreign terrorist organizations overseas, such as ISIL, by committing terrorist acts in the United States. Terrorist group members and supporters will almost certainly continue to use social media platforms to disseminate English language violent extremist messages.”
What do you think about Cincinnati man Christopher Lee Cornell and his ISIS terror attack plot on the U.S. capitol?
[Image via: Dawn]
