The U.S. Justice Department
released the below information:
John T. Booker Jr., 22, of
Topeka, Kan., was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for attempting to
detonate a vehicle bomb on the Fort Riley military base in Manhattan, Kan. On
Feb. 3, 2016, Booker pleaded guilty to one count of attempted use of a weapon
of mass destruction and one count of attempted destruction of government
property by fire or explosion.
Acting Assistant Attorney
General for National Security Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall of the
District of Kansas and Special Agent in Charge Darrin E. Jones of the FBI’s
sKansas City Division made the announcement.
“With this sentence, John
Booker is being held accountable for his plan to kill U.S. military personnel
on American soil in the name of ISIS,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General
Boente. “The National Security Division’s highest priority is countering
terrorist threats and protecting American lives by bringing to justice those
who plot to attack us. I want to thank the many agents, analysts, and
prosecutors who made this result possible.”
“Violent extremism is a threat to America and
all its people,” Acting U.S. Attorney Beall said. “Our goal is to prevent
violent extremists and their supporters from inspiring, financing or carrying
out acts of violence.”
“The investigation leading to
today's sentencing illustrates the FBI's commitment to disrupting acts of
terrorism,” said Special Agent in Charge Jones. “If Mr. Booker had been
successful in detonating a car bomb, the results could have been dozens, if not
hundreds, of casualties. The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain
committed to protecting the citizens of the United States and thwarting acts of
terrorism.”
In his guilty plea, Booker
admitted he intended to kill American soldiers and to assist ISIS’s (Islamic
State of Iraq and al-Sham) fight against the U.S. His plan called for
constructing a bomb containing 1,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate. Booker
intended to trigger the bomb himself and die in the process, and filmed a video
he intended Americans to see after his death.
“You sit in your homes and
think this war is just over in Iraq,” Booker said in the video. “Today we will
bring the Islamic State straight to your doorstep.”
Unbeknownst to Booker, the
bomb that he constructed was made with inert materials, and the two men working
with him were undercover informants for the FBI.
The FBI began investigating
Booker in March 2014 after he posted on his Facebook page that he wanted to
commit jihad. Booker admitted that he tried to enlist in the U.S. Army in order
to commit an insider attack against American soldiers like the one at Fort Hood
in Texas, but his deadly plans were thwarted when he was denied entry into the
Army. In October 2014, Booker began communicating with an undercover FBI
informant. He told the undercover FBI informant that he dreamed of being a
fighter in the Middle East, and proposed capturing and killing an American
soldier.
In March 2015, Booker was
introduced to another FBI informant who he believed would help him plan an
attack. Booker said he wanted to detonate a suicide bomb because he couldn’t be
captured, all the evidence would be destroyed, and he would be guaranteed to
hit his target. On March 10, 2015, Booker made a video filmed at Freedom Park
near Marshall Army Airfield at Fort Riley in which he pledged allegiance to Abu
Bakr al Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. That month, he rented a storage unit in
Topeka where the bomb would be assembled.
On April 10, 2015, Booker and
the informants drove to an area near Fort Riley that Booker believed to be a
little-used utility gate where they could enter Fort Riley undetected. He was
arrested when he made the final connections on the device that he believed
would arm the bomb.
Mr. Boente and Mr. Beall
commended the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force for their investigation of this
case. They also thanked Assistant Trial Attorneys Josh Parecki and Rebecca
Magnone of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Mattivi of the District of Kansas, who prosecuted
this case.
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