KANSAS
A 59-year-old Kansas man told an undercover federal employee that he was waiting for the “green light” from Allah to detonate a bomb at an airport and attack a civilian target, officials said.
Officials said Terry Lee Loewen, of Wichita, plead guilty on Monday to attempting to explode a car bomb at the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. The airport recently was renamed Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, officials stated.
He was charged with one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Loewen told the undercover employee that he didn’t expect to live through any of the attacks, officials stated. He also said he inspired by the teachings of Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki, and that he had download thousands of pages of information on jihad, according to authorities.
He said he could go over to the airport “slap some C-4 on some fuel trucks” before the Transportation Security Administration or TSA was alerted, officials said. He also used his airport badge card reader to get on the tarmac before he was arrested on December 2013, officials said.
“Terry Loewen utilized his privileged airport access to attempt a terrorist attack in Wichita,” said Assistant Attorney General John Carlin. “Detecting, disrupting and holding accountable those who wish to harm Americans remains our highest priority.”
“Protecting the American people from terrorism is our primary mission,” said U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom. “It is vital that we disrupt attacks against our homeland and bring terrorists to justice.”
In his guilty plea, the evidence against Loewen was spelled out:
- He came to the attention of the FBI late in May 2013 when he became a Facebook friend of a person who was posting comments advocating violent jihad.
- The FBI began communicating with Loewen through an undercover employee. After Loewen expressed his desire to engage in violent jihad, the undercover employee offered to introduce him to someone who could help him do it.
- Loewen told the undercover employee he was waiting for what he called “the green light” from Allah to carry out a violent attack on a civilian target.
- In September 2013, Loewen sent photos of airplanes on the tarmac at the Wichita airport. He commented that he could have “walked over there, shot both pilots … slapped some C4 on both fuel trucks and set them off before anyone even called TSA.”
- In October 2013, Loewen met with a second undercover FBI employee who Loewen believed was a “brother” and would help him blow up a plane. Loewen said he had scouted the airport to determine a time and place for an attack that would be sure to kill as many people as possible.
- Loewen assisted the second FBI employee in the final assembly of an improvised explosive device. He was not aware that the explosive materials used in the device were inert.
- In the early hours of Dec. 13, 2013, the second FBI employee picked up Loewen at a Wichita hotel. They drove to where the bomb was stored and finished wiring the device.
- When they reached the airport, Loewen twice used his airport badge at a card reader to attempt to get onto the tarmac before he was arrested.
Loewen’s sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. Prosecutors and Loewen’s lawyers have agreed to a recommended sentence of 20 years in federal prison, officials said.