Ben Arredondo

FBI Snags Arizona Republican-Turned-Democrat In Ticket-Bribery Sting

Ryan J. Reilly | May 16, 2012, 7:02PM

Update: May 16, 2012, 7:37 PM

A three-year undercover FBI operation has nabbed an Arizona Democrat who allegedly accepted thousands of dollars' worth of tickets to sporting and charity events in exchange for advancing the interests of a fake real estate company in Tempe.

Ben Arredondo, 63, was charged by a federal grand jury with bribery, fraud, attempted extortion and making false statements to FBI agents. The Republican-turned-Democrat allegedly received over $6,000 in tickets when he was a member of the Tempe City Council and member-elect of the Arizona House.

The indictment brought swift calls for Arredondo to resign. Sen. David Schapira, the top Democrat in the state Senate, put out a statement after the news hit: "The Department of Justice allegations against him are deeply troubling and, whether he is guilty or innocent, will pose too great a distraction for him to fulfill the duties of his office."

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Amine El Khalifi

Man Charged In U.S. Capitol Terror Sting Switched Target At Least Five Times

Ryan J. Reilly | February 17, 2012, 5:05PM

The man arrested in an FBI terror sting just as he was allegedly about to attempt what he thought would be a suicide attack on the U.S. Capitol had several other targets in mind before he eventually settled on his final plan, according to federal authorities.

An affidavit from an FBI agent filed in federal court Friday says that Amine El Khalifi planned to explode a bomb at an office building in Alexandria that contained military offices, then wanted to attack a synagogue, then decided to target an Army general, then a government building, then a restaurant next to that building because it was frequented by military officials.

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FBI Sting

Feds Say Man Arrested In Terror Sting Wanted To Bomb Capitol

Ryan J. Reilly | February 17, 2012, 1:46PM

Updated 3:19PM

Another FBI terrorism sting operation has led to the arrest of a man who allegedly believed he was plotting an attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Virginia resident Amine El Khalifi, 29, had been under federal scrutiny for around a year and had overstayed his visitor visa for a number of years, the Associated Press reported.

Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd confirmed to TPM that there was an arrest of a suspect in connection with a terrorism investigation and that the arrest "was the culmination of an undercover operation during which the suspect was closely monitored by law enforcement."

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Rezwan Ferdaus

Judge: It Doesn't Matter If The Remote Controlled Plane Plot Would Have Worked

Ryan J. Reilly | November 28, 2011, 1:32PM

The plot Rezwan Ferdaus allegedly developed to fly remote controlled planes carrying C-4 explosives into the Pentagon and the dome of the Capitol might have been far-fetched, but a federal judge has ruled he's still a danger to the community and agreed to the government's request to detain him.

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FBI

FBI Arrests Man For Plotting To Attack Capitol, Pentagon With C-4 Loaded Remote Controlled Planes

Ryan J. Reilly | September 28, 2011, 3:30PM

Updated: 5:55PM

Rezwan Ferdaus, a 26-year-old Massachusetts resident was arrested in an FBI sting on Wednesday after allegedly plotting to use large remote controlled model airplanes packed with C-4 plastic explosives to attack the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol.

Ferdaus allegedly traveled to Washington, D.C. to take photos of his targets in May 2011, all while under FBI surveillance. The Northeastern University graduate allegedly began planning to commit "jihad" against the United States in early 2010 and obtained mobile phones that he modified to act as an electrical switch for an IED.

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Farooque Ahmed

Man Who Wanted To Help Bomb DC Metro Sentenced To 23 Years In FBI Sting Case

Ryan J. Reilly | April 11, 2011, 3:20PM

Farooque Ahmed

A 35-year-old Virgina man who thought he was assisting members of al-Qaeda plan bombings of the D.C. Metro system was sentenced on Monday to 23 years in prison followed by 50 years of supervised release.

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FBI

GOPer to Mueller: Why Doesn't FBI Have To Reach Out To Baptists or Catholics Like It Does Muslims?

Ryan J. Reilly | March 16, 2011, 1:10PM

FBI Director Robert Mueller and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX)

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) asked FBI Director Robert Mueller on Wednesday whether the bureau had any outreach programs specifically for the Baptist or Catholic communities like it did with the Muslim community.

"How is your outreach going with the Baptists or the Catholics?" Gohmert inquired.

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Eric Holder

Judge: Eric Holder Violated DOJ Policy With Public Statements On FBI Terrorism Sting

Ryan J. Reilly | February 23, 2011, 7:56PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

A federal judge said Wednesday that Attorney General Eric Holder violated Justice Department policy by making statements defending the FBI's actions in the sting case against the so-called Christmas Tree bomber.

U.S. District Judge Garr M. King wrote in a filing late Wednesday that he was concerned about statements Holder made "regarding defendant's state of mind and specific activities," which he concluded "constitute a breach" of a Justice Department policy on the release of information relating to criminal and civil proceedings.

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Muslims

CAIR Pulls 'Don't Talk To FBI' Poster

Rachel Slajda | January 18, 2011, 8:38AM

The Council on American-Islamic Relations asked its California chapter to take down the image of a poster -- one that says, "Build a wall of resistance. Don't talk to the FBI" -- it used to promote a discussion about the FBI's tactics in recent terrorism investigations.

As soon as the national organization found out about the image last week -- about the same time Fox News and others began writing about it -- officials asked the chapter to pull it down, a CAIR spokesman tells TPM.

"It is not consistent with CAIR's policy of constitutionally informed cooperation with law enforcement," government affairs director Corey Saylor said.

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FBI

AG Eric Holder On Terrorism Stings: FBI Doesn't Entrap People

Ryan J. Reilly | December 10, 2010, 8:40AM

Muhammad Hussain

On the heels of FBI's arrest this week of a 21-year-old Baltimore man who converted to Islam and allegedly tried to set off a fake car bomb outside of a military recruitment center, Attorney General Eric Holder defended the federal government's undercover operations to prevent terror plots before they further develop.

"I think that we are on an appropriate course," Holder said at a news conference Thursday in response to a question from TPM. "I'm comfortable with the way that we've been conducting ourselves with regard to these investigations."

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Antonio Martinez

Wannabe Terrorist Caught In 'Facebook Sting' Feared An FBI Trap

Ryan J. Reilly | December 8, 2010, 5:02PM

Antonio Martinez, a 21-year-old from Baltimore who recently converted to Islam, went to his Facebook page on Sept. 29 and reportedly fired off a public posting calling for violence to stop the oppression of Muslims.

"The sword is cummin the reign of oppression is about 2 cease inshallah ta'ala YA muslimeen! don't execept the free world we are slaves of the Most High and never forget it!" Martinez wrote, according to an FBI affidavit.

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FBI

Baltimore Man Arrested In Fake Bomb Plot Targeting Military Recruitment Station

Ryan J. Reilly | December 8, 2010, 2:03PM

A Baltimore man was arrested by the FBI this morning in connection with what the feds say was a plot to attack an armed forces recruiting station in Catonsville, Md., with what the suspect thought was a car bomb.

"There was no actual danger to the public as the explosives were inert and the suspect had been carefully monitored by law enforcement for months," Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd told TPM in a statement. "There is no evidence this individual is tied to the recent shootings at military recruiting centers in the Washington, D.C. metro area."

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