Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Feds Head Off Bombing Plots in Dallas, Illinois

Cases unrelated to each other; no link to Denver, NY terror arrests

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 25, 2009 12:01 PM CDT
Email

(Newser) – A Jordanian citizen arrested in an elaborate FBI sting is to be arraigned today on charges of attempting to blow up a Dallas skyscraper. The court appearance comes a day after an Illinois man was charged with plotting to detonate a bomb near a Springfield courthouse, only to learn that his supposed al-Qaeda contact was an FBI agent. The cases are not related to each other nor to the terror arrests in Denver and New York, authorities say.

In Dallas, agents found Hosam Maher Husein Smadi on an extremist website espousing jihadist views. When they posed as al-Qaeda operatives and provided him with a fake bomb, his neighbors were stunned. "He was just an awesome person,” one tells the Dallas Morning News. Michael Finton of Decatur, Ill., who also went by "Talib Islam," seems less benign. "I got to thinking, ‘Why does this person even choose to live in this country if he thinks we’re so evil?’" an acquaintance tells the Springfield Journal-Register.

Michael C. Finton (left) and Hosam Maher Husein Smadi are in federal custody after attempting to detonate what they thought were bombs outside an Illinois courthouse and a Texas skyscraper.
Michael C. Finton (left) and Hosam Maher Husein Smadi are in federal custody after attempting to detonate what they thought were bombs outside an Illinois courthouse and a Texas skyscraper.   (AP Photo)
Hosam Maher Husein Smadi.
Hosam Maher Husein Smadi.   (AP Photo)
Hosam Maher Husein Smadi planned to topple Fountain Place, a 60-story glass office tower in Dallas, authorities say.
Hosam Maher Husein Smadi planned to topple Fountain Place, a 60-story glass office tower in Dallas, authorities say.   (AP Photo)
Michael C. Finton, who was arrested Wednesday and charged with attempting to murder federal officers or employees after attempting to detonate what he thought was a bomb outside a federal courthouse.
Michael C. Finton, who was arrested Wednesday and charged with attempting to murder federal officers or employees after attempting to detonate what he thought was a bomb outside a federal courthouse.   (AP Photo/Illinois Department of Corrections)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

A coordinated undercover law enforcement action was able to thwart his efforts and ensure no one was harmed. - David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 8 comments
fancygapva
Sep 26, 2009 12:30 PM CDT
@dontlikeyou: I don't generally like you either, but you're right. The government has and does fabricate things and the media is pretty much the creature of it's various corporate owners who have their own reasons for warping the "news" and turning it into infotainment. Greed seems to be the motivator in all the above from individual elected officials to bureaucrats to media moguls/editorial boards, etc. Here's the liberal punchline: If the human race doesn't get in touch with its compassion we really won't survive the next century or so. For the sake of the earth and all the other critters, that might not be such a bad thing....
Spudsy
Sep 25, 2009 9:58 AM CDT
If you click through to the Illinos story, you will see that the culprit was converted to islam in prison. I had heard some time ago from a knowledgeable person that prisons would be an inroad into America for jihadists. Ain't religion grand? We should get more of it into our government, don't you think? Such reason and kindness.
johntitor
Sep 25, 2009 7:00 AM CDT
Well put dontlikeyou. Dont forget about the gulf of Tonkin.

 
terrorism • FBI • Dallas • federal investigation • skyscraper • sting operations • al-Qaeda • undercover • criminal charges • Timothy McVeigh • bomb plot • Hosam Maher Husein Smadi • Michael Finton

More Newser Stories

Zazi Charged With Plotting Bomb Attacks in US
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne