FLORIDA
Federal authorities arrested a Monroe County man and charged him with trying to use a weapon of mass destruction, an explosive device with a timer, at a Key West beach.
Harlem Suarez, a/k/a “Almlak Benitez,” 23, of Key West, Florida, was charged by a criminal complaint with knowingly attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against a person or property within the U.S., officials said.
On July 27, 2015, Suarez took possession of an inert explosive device and was arrested.
“According to the complaint, Harlem Suarez, a self-professed ISIL adherent, knowingly attempted to use a weapon of mass destruction – a backpack bomb – in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Carlin. “Stopping attacks on our homeland by those inspired or directed by designated foreign terrorist organizations is the highest priority of the National Security Division.”
In April, Suarez came to the attention of the FBI because of his Facebook posting which had extremist rhetoric and promoted the Islamic State of Iraq and ISIS, authorities allege in the complaint.
The complaint further alleges that Suarez told an FBI confidential source that he wanted to make a “timer bomb.”
Officials said Suarez purchased components for this device, which was to contain galvanized nails, be concealed in a backpack, and be remotely detonated by a cellular telephone. Suarez intended to bury the device at a public beach in Key West and then detonate it.
Suarez is presumed innocent until proven guilty.