FLORIDA
A 23-year-old man was sentenced in federal court to life in prison for trying to use a weapon of mass destruction that going to detonate at a public beach in Key West, federal officials announced Tuesday.
Harlem Suarez, aka “Almlak Benitez,” 23, of Monroe County, Florida, was convicted of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, an explosive device, and attempting to provide material support to ISIS.
Suarez, a U.S. legal resident and citizen of Cuba, was convicted at trial in Key West, Florida on Jan. 27.
According to evidence introduced at trial, in April 2015, Suarez’s Facebook postings contained extremist rhetoric and promoted ISIS. Evidence further indicated that Suarez told an FBI confidential human source that he wanted to make a “timer bomb.”
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.