Two men have been arrested for allegedly hatching an ISIS plot against an Illinois military base
Mar 26, 2015, 22:29 IST
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The two Chicago area men spoke of using army uniforms, military knowledge and access to attack an Illinois military installation, the department said in a statement.
According to a Department of Justice press release, the men were arrested for "allegedly conspiring to provide material support to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant." One of them, 22-year-old Army National Guard specialist Hasan Edmonds, was arrested at Chicago's Midway Airport while en route to Cairo; his cousin and alleged co-conspirator, Jonas Edmonds, was arrested at his home shortly afterwards.
The press release details an alleged plan to attack a military base in northern Illinois, a plot uncovered during meetings with an undercover FBI agent.
"Both defendants met with an FBI undercover employee and presented a plan to carry out an armed attack against a US military facility in northern Illinois, an installation where Hasan Edmonds had been training," the press release states. "Jonas Edmonds asked the FBI undercover employee to assist in the attack and explained that they would use Hasan Edmonds' uniforms and the information he supplied about how to access the installation and target officers for attack."In the press release, Assistant Attorney General Carlin emphasized that the two were actively conspiring to carry out attacks inside the US after linking up with ISIS in the Middle East. "They plotted to attack members of our military within the United States. Disturbingly, one of the defendants currently wears the same uniform of those they allegedly planned to attack," Carlin said, according to the press release.The two men are facing a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.