Sami Osmakac
Sami Osmakac is a Kosovo-American convicted by a jury on June 10, 2014, following a criminal trial in U.S. District Court, of plotting terrorist attacks in and near Tampa, Florida.[1][2][3] Osmakac, a Kosovar and a naturalized US citizen, was arrested January 7, 2012, for his plot. He intended to bomb nightclubs, detonate a car bomb, fire an assault rifle, wear an explosive belt in a crowded area, and take hostages.[1][2] Osmakac was sentenced November 5, 2014, to 40 years in prison.[4]
Osmakac recorded an eight-minute video prior to his arrest describing the planned attack as retribution for wrongs committed against Muslims. The Federal Bureau of Investigation claimed Osmakac bought explosives and firearms from an undercover agent. He had been under investigation since September 2011, when a confidential source informed federal authorities that Osmakac walked into a business seeking al-Qaeda flags.[1][2]
Osmakac appeared in videos posted to an extremist YouTube nom de guerre "Abu Samia," in which he condemns other religions and secular Muslims.[5] Osmakac was kicked out of two mosques in the Tampa Bay area and reported to the FBI by a Muslim acquaintance.[6]
See also
- 2007 Fort Dix attack plot, involved a group of six radical Islamists (three with Albanian criminal backgrounds) who conspired to stage an attack against U.S. Military personnel stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey
- 2011 Frankfurt Airport shooting, the shooter, Arid Uka (an ethnic Albanian from Kosovo), was arrested and charged with killing two United States soldiers and seriously wounding two others
- Shahawar Matin Siraj, arrested in 2004 and convicted of plotting to bomb the 34th Street – Herald Square station of the New York City Subway
- 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting, American Muslim convert drive-by shooting on US military recruiting office in admitted jihad attack, killing one soldier, wounding another
- Amine El Khalifi, Moroccan man arrested for 2012 suicide attack attempt in Washington D.C.
- Michael Finton, American convert to Islam, attempted 2009 bombing of US target with FBI agent he thought was al-Qaeda member
- Nidal Malik Hasan, Fort Hood shooter, attacked US target in Texas in 2009
- Bryant Neal Vinas, American convert to Islam, convicted in 2009 of participating in/supporting al-Qaeda plot to bomb the New York City LIRR
- Faisal Shahzad, Pakistani-American, trained in Waziristan training camp to commit 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt.
- Najibullah Zazi, al-Qaeda member, US resident, pleaded guilty in 2010 of planning suicide bombings on New York City subway system
- Operation Arabian Knight, 2010 arrest of two Muslim men from New Jersey on terrorism charges
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lush, Tamara (January 9, 2012). "Feds Charge Ex-Kosovo Man in Fla. Islamic Plot". Associated Press. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Duell, Mark (January 9, 2012). "'Why not die the Islamic way?': U.S. immigrant 'planned to cause havoc with car bomb, machine guns and explosives belt'". The Daily Mail. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
- ↑ http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/jury-starts-deliberating-sami-osmakac-terrorism-case/2183695
- ↑ http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/sami-osmakac-gets-40-years-in-prison-for-plotting-terrorist-attacks-in/2205214
- ↑ "Tampa Man Charged For Plotting Attacks - Osmakac's Video Messages". Anti-Defamation League. January 11, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
- ↑ Anna M. Phillips (May 27, 2014). "Sami Osmakac, accused of terrorism, continues refusal to stand for judge". Tampa Bay Times.