Left-Wing Radical Muslim Convert Tries To Blow Up Federal Building
Left-wing radicals, historically infamous for their anti-American violence, have a new hero to praise…
WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - An Illinois man was ordered held on Thursday on charges he tried to blow up a federal building in the state capital, a case unrelated to the New York terrorism plot.
Michael Finton, also known as Talib Islam, was arrested in Springfield, Illinois, and charged with attempted murder of federal officers or employees and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction, charges that carry a life sentence.
“Fortunately, a coordinated undercover law enforcement effort was able to thwart his efforts and ensure no one was harmed,” David Kris, assistant Attorney General for National Security, said in a statement.
Finton was arrested on Wednesday in Springfield as he used a cell phone to try to detonate the bomb he believed was inside a van he had just parked outside the federal building.
Appearing in a courtroom on Thursday in the same building he is accused of targeting, Finton waived his right to a detention hearing.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Byron Cudmore appointed a public defender to represent Finton and ordered him held pending an indictment by a grand jury.
Finton said he worked part-time as a restaurant cook, according to the State Journal-Register newspaper.
The criminal complaint said Finton, 29, converted to Islam while in prison on other charges. It said he idolized an American who allied with the Taliban, John Walker Lindh, drawing the attention of law enforcement authorities.
After returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia in 2008, Finton told an individual, who turned out to be a law enforcement source, that he wanted to fight against Israelis in the Gaza Strip, according to the complaint.
Finton joins a long list of leftist radicals who have violently attacked the American people - John Walker Lindh and William Ayers among them.
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2447383520090924
