And the Muslim-American community braces for the inevitable backlash that somehow never seems to happen.
Tyler Paley, Arizona Republic:
An 18-year-old Tucson-area man accused of planning jihad-style attacks in Maricopa and Pima counties has pleaded guilty to three felonies and faces up to 14 years in prison…
Mahin Atif Khan pleaded guilty to inciting or inducing terrorism, financing or managing terrorism, and to manufacturing, possessing or selling a prohibited weapon…
At a hearing in July, FBI agent Benjamin Trentlage testified about how Khan unknowingly communicated with FBI agents over the course of several months, during which he detailed what he envisioned to be a “lone jihad attack.”
At various points, Khan said he was eyeing a Jewish community center and an Air Force recruitment center in Tucson for attacks, as well as the state Motor Vehicle Division office in Mesa, Trentlage said.
Those first two targets aren’t a surprise. But that third one? Look, nobody likes waiting around to renew a driver’s license, but…
Seriously, though, this sort of “lone wolf” terrorist plot is somehow supposed to be preferable to one that’s coordinated with some other larger group. Except it doesn’t really matter to the victims of a successful attack. They’re not going to say, “At least this wasn’t ISIS. Whew!”
Fortunately, the FBI was able to stop this guy before he killed anybody. The Feds haven’t exactly been covering themselves in glory lately, but kudos to them for this. They’re the reason this is a local story, not an international one.
(Hat tip: Gabriel Malor)
P.S. You know how we’re told that terrorism is a result of poverty? Maybe not always.