BALTIMORE, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A young Baltimore man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly conspiring to bomb a military recruiting station, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Antonio Martinez, a 21-year-old convert to Islam, allegedly tried to blow up the recruitment center with a false explosive device supplied to him by the FBI, federal authorities said in a release.
Martinez, also known as Muhammad Hussain, allegedly posted on his Facebook page in October it was his dream he would be among the ranks of the mujahideen (strugglers) and that Allah would open a door for him because all he thinks about is jihad, or holy war, the U.S. Justice Department affidavit said.
Martinez' postings on Facebook gained the notice of an FBI informant who began communicating with him, eventually learning Martinez wanted to "attack and kill military personnel."
During the undercover operation, the informant learned Martinez allegedly told him he tried to recruit at least three other people into the action, but all of them declined. One allegedly told Martinez "what he wanted to do was wrong ideologically, (and) would cause harm to Muslims."
During a series of conversations, he learned where Martinez allegedly planned his attack and introduced him to another undercover agent whom he referred to as his "Afghani brother."
On Tuesday, they met with Martinez and showed him a fake bomb. On Wednesday morning, when Martinez allegedly tried to detonate the bomb in the parking lot of the Catonsville, Md., recruiting station, FBI agents arrested him, documents show.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James K. Bredar read the charges of attempted murder and the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and set a hearing for Monday, the Los Angeles Times said.
An undercover FBI operative told the suspect several times he could back out but he was determined to carry out the plan, a source told CNN.
