Georgia Man Arrested For Alleged Plot To Attack The White House, Lincoln Memorial And Other Monuments

White House
Snow falls around the White House, on January 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. The DC area was hit with 4-7 inches of snow accumulation with the potential of another 2-4 inches. President Donald Trump is... Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images

The FBI arrested a Georgia man on Wednesday on allegations that he plotted to attack the White House, along with other national monuments.

Hasher Jallal Taheb has been charged with "attempting to damage or destroy a building owned by the United States using fire or an explosive," U.S. Attorney Byung J. "BJay'' Pak said according to NBC Washington. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years if convicted.

"All potential threats have been neutralized and were under control from the inception of this case," Pak said. No additional questions were answered by authorities due to the ongoing nature of the case. WSB-TV reports that federal authorities were in Cumming, Georgia on Wednesday night to carry out a search warrant on the residence that Taheb is believed to share with his mother.

Made it to Cumming -where federal authorities are executing a search warrant at the home of Forsyth man charged with plot to attack White House @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/Azw4b5fspE

— Alyssa Hyman (@AlyssaHymanWSB) January 16, 2019

According to a criminal complaint filed in Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta Wednesday, Taheb had been under investigation by the FBI since March 2018. The investigation began after a community member informed local law enforcement that Taheb had "become radicalized, changed his name and made plans to travel abroad," ABC News reports.

However, Taheb did not have a passport, though he applied for one in July 2018. In August 2018, Taheb also put his car up for sale, telling a confidential FBI informant that he was selling the vehicle to fund his trip for "hijra." According to the complaint, "hijra" is used to describe traveling to areas controlled by ISIS.

By Dec. 2, Taheb met with an undercover FBI agent and stated that an attack in the U.S. would "do more damage." Conducting an attack overseas would make them "one of many," Taheb said.

In another December meeting between Taheb and the agent, Taheb presented a hand-drawn floor plan of the White House's West Wing and asked for help to purchase weapons and explosives to be used in an attack. By Dec. 14, Taheb had expanded his targets to include the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and an unspecified synagogue.

Taheb's plans included driving along a road behind the White House, and using an anti-tank rocket to blow up a door and then entering the building to kill people. Taheb had planned to exchange his car for weapons and ammunition on Wednesday and carry out the attack as early as Thursday.

Taheb was arrested when he and the undercover FBI agent met a second confidential informant in a parking lot to pick up the weapons. FBI agents took Taheb into custody after he allegedly took a backpack containing explosives and an AT-4 and put them into a rental car.

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