2011 Manhattan terrorism plot
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Manhattan terrorism plot was an alleged effort by two Muslim
Arab-Americans to bomb various targets in Manhattan
, New York
. The suspects allegedly planned to attack an unspecified synagogue
and one of them expressed interest in blowing up a church and the Empire State Building
. New York City law enforcement arrested the two suspects, 26-year-old Ahmed Ferhani and 20-year-old Mohamed Mamdouh, in a sting operation
on May 11, 2011. Their plot was motivated primarily by "politics and anti-Semitism
," according to the authorities.
said both suspects wanted to attack a "major synagogue." Mr. Ferhani is alleged to also have expressed an interest in blowing up a church in Queens and the Empire State Building. Prior to their arrest, the two men had already obtained some guns. Ferhani allegedly was trying to sell drugs to fund the attacks.
According to law enforcement officials, this was the thirteenth plot thwarted against the city since the September 11 attacks.
Raymond Kelly, Ferhani once said, "They're treating us like dogs." Ferhani also told the detective about "his intent to participate in jihad
" and that "he would become a martyr." Eventually Ferhani brought Mamdouh into the plot, who prosecutors said is on tape saying he hated Jews.
According to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance
, the authorities decided to act because Ferhani's "plans became bigger and more violent with every passing week." In several meetings with the undercover detective, Ferhani discussed the idea of attacking a synagogue, even suggesting disguising himself as a worshiping Jew so he could infiltrate the synagogue and leave a bomb inside.
On May 11, 2011, the NYPD set up an arms deal as a sting operation
on Manhattan's West Side. In the deal, one of the undercover officers handed Ferhani a bag containing three handguns, three boxes of ammo and an inert (not operational) grenade. Once Ferhani placed the bag in the trunk of his car, the police swarmed and arrested him, as well as Mamdouh, who was nearby. As soon as Ferhani put the bag into the trunk of a car, he was arrested, the complaint said. Mamdouh, who had been dropped off nearby before the buy, was arrested soon afterward.
in a Manhattan courtroom on terrorism charges. Prosecutor Margaret Gandy listed the charges and evidence, and the two were detained without bail. According to The Wall Street Journal
, "The arrests mark the first time New York state terrorism charges, rather than federal, will be used against individuals suspected in a terror plot." According to a source quoted by The Wall Street Journal, NYPD detectives brought the case to the Joint Terrorism Task Force
, which decided not to take part due to concerns that the case was not strong enough to secure a conviction. A New York State grand jury
decided to indict the suspects on lesser charges, and declined to indict them on the more serious charges such as second-degree conspiracy.
. Ferhani, considered the ringleader of the plot, is from Algeria, from where he and his parents were granted asylum some 10 years prior. He was under review for possible deportation for failing to show up at immigration hearings where he would have been questioned about his arrest record. Mamdouh, the accomplice, is a U.S. citizen from Morocco.
At the time of attack, Ferhani was unemployed but previously worked as a cosmetic sales clerk at Saks Fifth Avenue
in Midtown Manhattan
. According to one his friends and former co-worker at Saks, he had dreams of being a model or actor and moving out to California
. The friend also said Ferhani was not particularly religious, drank alcohol and was an aspiring hip-hop performer. Ferhani also had been arrested six times previously, including an October 2010 robbery of a prostitute. All the cases were eventually dismissed and sealed.
Islam in the United States
From the 1880s to 1914, several thousand Muslims immigrated to the United States from the Ottoman Empire, and from parts of South Asia; they did not form distinctive settlements, and probably most assimilated into the wider society....
Arab-Americans to bomb various targets in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The suspects allegedly planned to attack an unspecified synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
and one of them expressed interest in blowing up a church and the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
. New York City law enforcement arrested the two suspects, 26-year-old Ahmed Ferhani and 20-year-old Mohamed Mamdouh, in a sting operation
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
on May 11, 2011. Their plot was motivated primarily by "politics and anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
," according to the authorities.
Plot
On May 12, 2011, New York City law enforcement officials announced that two suspects, Ahmed Ferhani and Mohamed Mamdouh, had been arrested for allegedly trying to purchase weapons, including three pistols and hand grenades, as part of a terror plot to attack an unspecified Manhattan synagogue. New York City Mayor Michael BloombergMichael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
said both suspects wanted to attack a "major synagogue." Mr. Ferhani is alleged to also have expressed an interest in blowing up a church in Queens and the Empire State Building. Prior to their arrest, the two men had already obtained some guns. Ferhani allegedly was trying to sell drugs to fund the attacks.
According to law enforcement officials, this was the thirteenth plot thwarted against the city since the September 11 attacks.
Arrest
An undercover detective had been investigating one of the suspects, Ahmed Ferhani, for several months. In October 2010, Ferhani was arrested on a robbery charge in Manhattan, when the detective overhead Ferhani saying he hated Jews and was upset with the way Muslims, especially Palestinians, were treated around the world. According to New York City Police CommissionerNew York City Police Commissioner
The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department, appointed by the Mayor of New York City. Governor Theodore Roosevelt, in one of his final acts before becoming Vice President of the United States in March 1901, signed legislation replacing the Police Board...
Raymond Kelly, Ferhani once said, "They're treating us like dogs." Ferhani also told the detective about "his intent to participate in jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
" and that "he would become a martyr." Eventually Ferhani brought Mamdouh into the plot, who prosecutors said is on tape saying he hated Jews.
According to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance
Cyrus Vance, Jr.
Cyrus Roberts Vance, Jr. is an American trial lawyer. He is the incumbent New York County District Attorney , and was previously a principal at the law firm of Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Isaon, Anello & Bohrer, P.C...
, the authorities decided to act because Ferhani's "plans became bigger and more violent with every passing week." In several meetings with the undercover detective, Ferhani discussed the idea of attacking a synagogue, even suggesting disguising himself as a worshiping Jew so he could infiltrate the synagogue and leave a bomb inside.
On May 11, 2011, the NYPD set up an arms deal as a sting operation
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
on Manhattan's West Side. In the deal, one of the undercover officers handed Ferhani a bag containing three handguns, three boxes of ammo and an inert (not operational) grenade. Once Ferhani placed the bag in the trunk of his car, the police swarmed and arrested him, as well as Mamdouh, who was nearby. As soon as Ferhani put the bag into the trunk of a car, he was arrested, the complaint said. Mamdouh, who had been dropped off nearby before the buy, was arrested soon afterward.
Trial
On the evening of May 12, 2011, the two suspects were arraignedArraignment
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal complaint in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant of the charges against him or her. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea...
in a Manhattan courtroom on terrorism charges. Prosecutor Margaret Gandy listed the charges and evidence, and the two were detained without bail. According to The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, "The arrests mark the first time New York state terrorism charges, rather than federal, will be used against individuals suspected in a terror plot." According to a source quoted by The Wall Street Journal, NYPD detectives brought the case to the Joint Terrorism Task Force
Joint Terrorism Task Force
A Joint Terrorism Task Force is a partnership between various U.S. law enforcement agencies that is charged with taking action against terrorism, which includes the investigation of crimes such as wire fraud and identity theft...
, which decided not to take part due to concerns that the case was not strong enough to secure a conviction. A New York State grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
decided to indict the suspects on lesser charges, and declined to indict them on the more serious charges such as second-degree conspiracy.
Suspects
The two suspects, 26-year-old Ahmed Ferhani and 20-year-old Mohamed Mamdouh, are both Arab-Muslim immigrants from North Africa that live in East Elmhurst, QueensEast Elmhurst, Queens
East Elmhurst is a culturally diverse area in New York City, in the northwest of the borough of Queens. It is located north of Jackson Heights and Corona and is bounded on the east and north by Flushing Bay. Residents are mostly moderate-income families, but there are also low-income areas. It...
. Ferhani, considered the ringleader of the plot, is from Algeria, from where he and his parents were granted asylum some 10 years prior. He was under review for possible deportation for failing to show up at immigration hearings where he would have been questioned about his arrest record. Mamdouh, the accomplice, is a U.S. citizen from Morocco.
At the time of attack, Ferhani was unemployed but previously worked as a cosmetic sales clerk at Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
. According to one his friends and former co-worker at Saks, he had dreams of being a model or actor and moving out to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The friend also said Ferhani was not particularly religious, drank alcohol and was an aspiring hip-hop performer. Ferhani also had been arrested six times previously, including an October 2010 robbery of a prostitute. All the cases were eventually dismissed and sealed.
Motive
A high-ranking NYPD terrorism official said that Ferhani and Mamdouh represented a new kind of threat: "They weren't waiting for guidance from [Osama] bin Laden, they weren't looking to go overseas. They were confident they could do it themselves. These guys were also no religious experts. They weren't driven by religion. It's really more politics and anti-Semitism."See also
- 2005 Los Angeles bomb plot2005 Los Angeles bomb plotThe 2005 Los Angeles bomb plot was a 2005 effort by a group of ex-convicts calling themselves Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheed to bomb several military bases, a number of synagogues, and an Israeli consulate in California....
- 2009 Bronx terrorism plot2009 Bronx terrorism plotOn May 20, 2009, US law enforcement arrested four black Muslim men in connection with a plot to shoot down military airplanes flying out of an Air National Guard base in Newburgh, New York and blow up two synagogues in the Riverdale community of the Bronx....