2011 Manhattan terrorism plot: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:04, 15 May 2016

Revision as of 21:42, 16 May 2016

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| motive = Politics

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The '''2011 Manhattan terrorism plot''' was an conspiracy by two [[Islam in the United States|Muslim]] [[Arab-Americans]] to bomb various targets in the [[Manhattan]] borough of [[New York City]], [[New York]], USA. They had planned to attack an unspecified [[synagogue]] and one of them expressed interest in blowing up a church and the [[Empire State Building]]. New York City law enforcement arrested the two suspects, 26-year-old Ahmed Ferhani and 20-year-old Mohamed Mamdouh, in a [[sting operation]] on May 11, 2011. Their plot was motivated primarily by "politics and [[anti-Semitism]]," according to the authorities.<ref name="wsj">{{cite news |title=Terror Suspect Details Emerge |authorauthor1=Sean Gardiner, |author2=Pervaiz Shallwani and |author3=Michael Howard Shaul |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730804576321582267763512.html |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=May 14, 2011 |accessdate=May 14, 2011}}</ref>

==Plot==

On May 12, 2011, New York City law enforcement officials announced that two suspects, Ahmed Ferhani and Mohamed Mamdouh, had been arrested for trying to purchase weapons, including three pistols and hand grenades, as part of a terror plot to attack an unspecified Manhattan synagogue. [[New York City Mayor]] [[Michael Bloomberg]] said both suspects wanted to attack a "major synagogue."<ref name="abc">{{cite news |title=Two Arrested in New York City Synagogue Attack Plot Sting |authorauthor1=Richard Esposito, |author2=Mark Crudele and |author3=Aaron Katersky |url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/arrested-york-city-synagogue-attack-plot-sting/story?id=13586174 |newspaper=ABC News |date=May 12, 2011 |accessdate=May 14, 2011}}</ref> Mr. Ferhani is to also have expressed an interest in blowing up a church in Queens and the Empire State Building. Prior to their arrest, the two men had already obtained some guns.<ref name="wsj"/> Ferhani allegedly was trying to sell drugs to fund the attacks.<ref>{{cite news |title=Al Qaeda's hardmen: New York terror suspect is wannabe model who worked as MAKE-UP salesman at Saks (and his co-conspirator has a record for kicking a poodle) |author= |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1386221/Terror-suspect-Ahmed-Ferhani-worked-Saks-Fifth-Ave-salesman.html |newspaper=Daily Mail |date=May 13, 2011 |accessdate=May 14, 2011}}</ref>

According to law enforcement officials, this was the thirteenth plot thwarted against the city since the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref name="abc"/>

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==Trial==

On the evening of May 12, 2011, the two suspects were [[Arraignment|arraigned]] in a Manhattan courtroom on terrorism charges. Prosecutor Margaret Gandy listed the charges and evidence, and the two were detained without bail. According to ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', "The arrests mark the first time New York state terrorism charges, rather than federal, will be used against individuals suspected in a terror plot." According to a source quoted by ''The Wall Street Journal'', NYPD detectives brought the case to the [[Joint Terrorism Task Force]], which decided not to take part due to concerns that the case was not strong enough to secure a conviction.<ref name="wsj1">{{cite news |title=Grenade Attack Suspects Charged |authorauthor1=Sean Gardiner, |author2=Pervaiz Shallwani and |author3=Devlin Barrett |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703864204576319230734186512.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLE_Video_Top |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=May 13, 2011 |accessdate=May 14, 2011}}</ref> A New York State [[grand jury]] decided to indict the suspects on lesser charges, and declined to indict them on the more serious charges such as second-degree conspiracy.<ref>{{cite news|lastauthor1=Moynihan, Colin; |author2=Rashbaum, William K. |title=Most Serious Charges Are Rejected in Terror Case|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/16/nyregion/most-serious-charges-rejected-in-synagogue-bomb-plot.html|accessdate=July 5, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 15, 2011}}</ref>

At trial in March 2012, one of Ferhani's attorneys, [[Elizabeth Fink]], argued that he had been entrapped by law enforcement authorities.<ref>[http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/lawyers-for-man-accused-in-terrorism-plot-make-case-for-dismissal/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 Lawyers for Man Accused in Terrorism Plot Make Case for Dismissal] [[New York Times]], March 13, 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.thenation.com/article/173201/did-nypd-entrap-ahmed-ferhani# Did the NYPD Entrap Ahmed Ferhani?][[The Nation]], March 5, 2013</ref>

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==Suspects==

The two suspects, 26-year-old Ahmed Ferhani and 20-year-old Mohamed Mamdouh, are both Arab-Muslim immigrants from North Africa that live in [[East Elmhurst, Queens]].<ref name="nypost">{{cite news |title=New video shows takedown of 2 Queens men who plotted to blow up Manhattan synogogues |authorauthor1=David Seifman, |author2=Jamie Schram and |author3=Dan Mangan |url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/ll_kill_jews_qns_jihadist_busted_uNdRMYGSTYA2chnztlDlZM |newspaper=New York Post |date=May 13, 2011 |accessdate=May 14, 2011}}</ref> Ferhani, considered the ringleader of the plot, is from Algeria, from where he and his parents were granted asylum some 10 years prior.<ref name="wsj"/> He was under review for possible deportation for failing to show up at immigration hearings where he would have been questioned about his arrest record. Mamdouh, the accomplice, is a [[Moroccan American|U.S. citizen from Morocco]].<ref name="nypost"/>

At the time of attack, Ferhani was unemployed but previously worked as a cosmetic sales clerk at [[Saks Fifth Avenue]] in [[Midtown Manhattan]]. According to one his friends and former co-worker at Saks, he had dreams of being a model or actor and moving out to [[California]]. The friend also said Ferhani was not particularly religious, drank alcohol and was an aspiring hip-hop performer. Ferhani also had been arrested six times previously, including an October 2010 robbery of a prostitute. All the cases were eventually dismissed and sealed.<ref name="wsj"/>