A 21-year-old Baltimore construction worker, who allegedly "dreamed" of waging jihad against the U.S., was charged by federal authorities with attempted murder and the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction Wednesday in connection with a plot to bomb a suburban Maryland military recruiting station.
Antonio Martinez was arrested Wednesday after allegedly attempting to detonate what he thought was a sport-utility vehicle laden with explosives parked near the Armed Forces recruiting station in Catonsville, Md., prosecutors and the FBI say in court documents.
Baltimore U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said the device represented "no actual danger" to the public because it had been assembled with the help of undercover federal agents who rendered it inert.
The arrest marked the second time in three weeks that federal investigators announced an arrest linked to an elaborate sting operation in which undercover investigators worked with suspects to assemble and deliver a dummy device to an actual target.
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Last month, a 19-year-old Somali-born U.S. citizen was arrested in Portland, Ore., after federal prosecutors alleged he plotted a similar car bomb attack at the site of a Nov. 26 Christmas tree lighting ceremony that had attracted thousands of spectators to the city's popular Pioneer Square.
Court documents allege the Portland arrest of Mohamed Osman Mohamud briefly spooked Martinez, who called an FBI informant on Nov. 27 in "an agitated state" after learning that the Portland plot was a "set-up."
"I'm not falling for no b.s.," Martinez allegedly told the unidentified informant, according to a transcript of the telephone conversation. Despite the scare, the documents allege, Martinez called the same informant the next day and reaffirmed his commitment to the plot.
"I'm just ready to move forward," the suspect allegedly said.
Joseph Balter, Martinez's attorney, declined to comment on the allegations. But he cautioned that the arrest and charges marked only the very beginning of the case.
"I would hope everybody would not engage in a rush to judgment here," Balter said.
An FBI affidavit outlining the operation portrayed Martinez as so eager to lash out against the U.S. that he unsuccessfully attempted to recruit three unidentified accomplices.
"All three of them declined, one of whom expressly attempted to dissuade Martinez from committing jihad," the documents say.
After the failed recruitment effort, the plot proceeded when the FBI informant introduced Martinez to an undercover FBI agent, whom Martinez referred to as "the Afghani brother."
Rosenstein said in an interview there was no evidence that Martinez was aided by others in the alleged scheme that began taking shape in September. At that time, the documents say, the FBI informant noticed a series of threatening postings on Martinez's Facebook account.
Attorney Jim Lavine, a former prosecutor, said the government's tactics raise "important questions of whether the person targeted actually has the capacity to commit the crime."
"When you push these cases to the point of creating such an elaborate ruse, you wonder whether they (government) are going too far," he said.
Richard McFeely, head of the FBI's Baltimore Division, said Martinez was "absolutely committed to carrying out an attack which would have cost lives."
Rosenstein said federal investigators tried to measure that commitment by deploying undercover agents in the detailed sting operation.
"The goal is to determine whether the defendant truly wants to go forward with the scheme," he said.
White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said President Obama was briefed on the operation prior to the arrest.
"This arrest underscores the necessity of remaining vigilant against terrorism here and abroad and why we have been focusing on addressing the challenge posed by domestic radicalization," he said.
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