Federal agents arrested an 18-year-old man on Friday who planned to blow up what he believed to be a car bomb outside a Chicago bar, law enforcement officials said Saturday.
There was never any danger that the suspect, Adel Daoud, would actually detonate a bomb because the plot he agreed to carry out was proposed by undercover agents posing as extremists, according to a statement released by the United States attorney’s office in the Northern District of Illinois.
Mr. Daoud, a United States citizen who lives in Hillside, on the outskirts of Chicago, was being closely monitored by law enforcement officials for an extended period of time and, according to the statement, was “offered several opportunities to change his mind and walk away from the supposed attack.”
Mr. Daoud’s older brother, Amr, 21, described him as a very devout Muslim who would go to the mosque for prayers with their father every day at 4 a.m. He said that their parents came to the United States from Egypt, but that neither they nor his two sisters were as religious.
He said that Adel, who graduated from high school and was not working, wanted to go to school in Canada to become a sheik, a Muslim religious official.
“He’s a very peaceful guy; I never even knew him to be violent,” said Amr Daoud, a cigar salesman. “One time he got punched in school and he didn’t do anything. He’s a very passive person.”
Mr. Daoud first came to the attention of the authorities in October 2011, when he sent out e-mails “relating to violent jihad and the killing of Americans,” according to an affidavit in support of the complaint.
In May 2012, Mr. Daoud was contacted online by two undercover agents from the F.B.I., and during these conversations he “expressed an interest in engaging in violent jihad, either in the United States or overseas,” according to the affidavit.
Over the next month, law enforcement officials said, he was introduced to someone posing as an “operational terrorist.”
Mr. Daoud offered a list of 29 potential targets, officials said, “including military recruiting centers, bars, malls and other tourist attractions in the Chicago area.”
He then chose, researched and conducted surveillance of the target and planned what he thought would be an attack using an explosive device, officials said. But they said there was never any danger.
“The explosives that Daoud allegedly attempted to detonate posed no threat to the public,” said Gary S. Shapiro, the acting United States attorney in the Northern District of Illinois. “They were inert and had been supplied by undercover law enforcement personnel.”
Around 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Mr. Daoud met with the undercover agent in Villa Park, and they drove together to downtown Chicago, the statement said. During the drive, Mr. Daoud prayed that the attack would succeed, causing destruction and leaving many people dead, according to the statement.
Once in Chicago, Mr. Daoud and the agent changed vehicles, taking a Jeep containing the fake explosive device and parking it in front of a downtown bar, officials said. Mr. Daoud then walked about a block into an alley, where he tried to activate the fake bomb by pressing a triggering mechanism. He was then arrested.
Mr. Daoud remains in custody after being charged in United States District Court on Saturday with one count of an attempt to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
There was never any danger that the suspect, Adel Daoud, would actually detonate a bomb because the plot he agreed to carry out was proposed by undercover agents posing as extremists, according to a statement released by the United States attorney’s office in the Northern District of Illinois.
Mr. Daoud, a United States citizen who lives in Hillside, on the outskirts of Chicago, was being closely monitored by law enforcement officials for an extended period of time and, according to the statement, was “offered several opportunities to change his mind and walk away from the supposed attack.”
Mr. Daoud’s older brother, Amr, 21, described him as a very devout Muslim who would go to the mosque for prayers with their father every day at 4 a.m. He said that their parents came to the United States from Egypt, but that neither they nor his two sisters were as religious.
He said that Adel, who graduated from high school and was not working, wanted to go to school in Canada to become a sheik, a Muslim religious official.
“He’s a very peaceful guy; I never even knew him to be violent,” said Amr Daoud, a cigar salesman. “One time he got punched in school and he didn’t do anything. He’s a very passive person.”
Mr. Daoud first came to the attention of the authorities in October 2011, when he sent out e-mails “relating to violent jihad and the killing of Americans,” according to an affidavit in support of the complaint.
In May 2012, Mr. Daoud was contacted online by two undercover agents from the F.B.I., and during these conversations he “expressed an interest in engaging in violent jihad, either in the United States or overseas,” according to the affidavit.
Over the next month, law enforcement officials said, he was introduced to someone posing as an “operational terrorist.”
Mr. Daoud offered a list of 29 potential targets, officials said, “including military recruiting centers, bars, malls and other tourist attractions in the Chicago area.”
He then chose, researched and conducted surveillance of the target and planned what he thought would be an attack using an explosive device, officials said. But they said there was never any danger.
“The explosives that Daoud allegedly attempted to detonate posed no threat to the public,” said Gary S. Shapiro, the acting United States attorney in the Northern District of Illinois. “They were inert and had been supplied by undercover law enforcement personnel.”
Around 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Mr. Daoud met with the undercover agent in Villa Park, and they drove together to downtown Chicago, the statement said. During the drive, Mr. Daoud prayed that the attack would succeed, causing destruction and leaving many people dead, according to the statement.
Once in Chicago, Mr. Daoud and the agent changed vehicles, taking a Jeep containing the fake explosive device and parking it in front of a downtown bar, officials said. Mr. Daoud then walked about a block into an alley, where he tried to activate the fake bomb by pressing a triggering mechanism. He was then arrested.
Mr. Daoud remains in custody after being charged in United States District Court on Saturday with one count of an attempt to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Susan C. Beachy contributed research.