Georgia man planned to attack White House with rocket, FBI says
A man who planned to attack the White House with explosives and an anti-tank rocket today is under arrest, federal prosecutors said. Hasher Jallal Taheb is charged with attempting to damage or destroy a building owned by the U.S. using fire or an explosive.
The FBI said the suspect was radicalized and intent on carrying out an attack in Washington, but the FBI got a tip last March that allowed them to disrupt the suspect's plot, reports CBS News' Jeff Pegues.
According to an FBI affidavit, Taheb told a confidential FBI source in October he "planned to sell his car to fund his travel" to an area overseas controlled by ISIS but he didn't have a passport, so he later told the source he instead "wished to conduct an attack in the United States."
Taheb allegedly told an undercover FBI agent in December he wanted to attack "the Washington Monument, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and a specific synagogue."
Last week, he allegedly provided the source his detailed plan to attack the White House today, using "firearms," an anti-tank rocket, and "backpacks with explosives." He was arrested Wednesday in Buford, Georgia.
FBI agents and other law enforcement agencies were seen going in and out of Taheb's home in Cumming, Georgia, Wednesday.
A woman who said she knows Taheb's family describes them as quiet, but said there were no obvious red flags. The FBI believes Taheb acted alone.