Federal officials said they arrested a Moroccan national living in Connecticut in an alleged plot to fly bombs on drone-like devices into a school and a federal building.
Authorities said they arrested El MehdiSemlaliFahti, 27, on Monday. They found wires and tools in his Bridgeport apartment. The Connecticut Postfirst reported the arrest. From the article:
Fahti told an undercover agent in five recorded conversations that he studied the bomb attack operation for months, and had made a chemical bomb while in high school in Morocco, court documents charge. The recordings additionally claim he could obtain whatever else he needed for his plans in "Southern California on the border." He said funding would come from "secret accounts" comprised of money-laundered cash and drug dealing profits, the FBI said.
Fahti hasn't been charged with terrorism, but authorities said that could come later in the investigation. He's charged with immigration-related crimes for allegedly staying in the U.S. for seven years after his student visa expired, after flunking out of Virginia International University. According to The Connecticut Post, he is accused of "making a false statement, falsely swearing under oath, and falsifying declarations to a federal immigration judge."
The FBI said Fahti targeted an out-of-state school and a federal building in Connecticut. The exact locations weren't released.
Fahti is detained without bail. His public defender declined to comment Tuesday.
This report includes information from The Associated Press.