2009 Bronx terrorism plot
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

On May 20, 2009,
US law enforcement Law enforcement in the United States is one of three major components of the criminal justice system of the United States, along with courts and corrections. Although each component operates semi-independently, the three collectively form a cha ...
arrested four men in connection with a fake plot concocted by a
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) informant to shoot down military airplanes flying out of an
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
base in
Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...
, and blow up two
synagogues A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
in the Riverdale community of
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
using weapons supplied by the FBI. The group was led by Shahed Hussain, a Pakistani criminal who was working for the FBI to avoid deportation for having defrauded the
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NYSDMV or DMV) is the department of the New York state government responsible for vehicle registration, vehicle inspections, driver's licenses, learner’s permits, photo ID cards, and adjudicati ...
. Hussain has never been charged in the United States with any terrorism related offenses and was paid nearly by the FBI for his work on this plot. The FBI's use of two informants, and offers of money and food incentives to the four men in the case has led to accusations that the FBI engaged in
entrapment Entrapment is a practice in which a law enforcement agent or agent of the state induces a person to commit a "crime" that the person would have otherwise been unlikely or unwilling to commit.''Sloane'' (1990) 49 A Crim R 270. See also agent provo ...
. On August 23, 2013, by a 2 to 1 vote, an appeal to overturn the convictions was denied by a Manhattan appeals court. Judge
Jon O. Newman Jon Ormond Newman (born May 2, 1932) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Education and legal training Born in New York City, New York, Newman earned his Artium Baccalaureus de ...
cited James Cromitie's statements as proof of intent. In
dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...
, the Chief Judge
Dennis Jacobs Dennis Jacobs (born February 28, 1944) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Education and career Born and raised in New York City, Jacobs graduated from Forest Hills High School i ...
said there was scarce evidence of pre intent and that Cromitie was "badgered" into joining the plot. All three judges unanimously rejected the entrapment claims by the three other defendants and rejected all four defendants’ arguments that their convictions should be overturned on grounds of government misconduct.


Background

The attempted attack is cited as one of a series of plots and failed attacks on military installations in the United States, including the
2005 Los Angeles bomb plot The 2005 Los Angeles bomb plot was a 2005 effort by a group of ex-convicts calling themselves '' Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh'' to bomb several military bases, a number of synagogues, and an Israeli consulate in California. On 31 August 2005, Kevin ...
, the
2007 Fort Dix attack plot The 2007 Fort Dix attack plot involved a group of six radicalized individuals who were found guilty of conspiring to stage an attack against U.S. Military personnel stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The men were arrested by the Federal Bureau ...
, the 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting, and the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
. Previous attacks in Riverdale include the 1989 firebombing of the ''Riverdale Press'' during the controversy over ''The Satanic Verses'' and the 2000 New York terror attack.


Suspects

The terrorist suspects were four Muslim men; three are African-American U.S. citizens, and one is a Haitian immigrant. Cromitie was first recruited by Shahed Hussain, an Albany hotel owner and FBI informant at the
Masjid al-Ikhlas Masjid al-Ikhlas (Arabic: "mosque of devotion"), also referred to as The Islamic Learning Center of Orange County, is a mosque in Newburgh, New York. Formerly a warehouse, the mosque was founded in 1992. Previously, Newburgh's Muslim community m ...
mosque in Newburgh, New York, which he attended on only a few occasions. The FBI informant posed as a wealthy business man and enticed Cromitie with an offer of $250,000. Cromitie and his three accomplices, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen, had no serious offences on their records, but were described as "extremely violent men" by prosecutors. The defense argued that these men would never have contrived this plot without the leadership of paid informants, which many have considered a wasteful use of government resources, i.e., to create terrorism plots where there wouldn't have been any to begin with. None of the men had the money, knowledge or skills to obtain materials or assemble a bomb. Cromitie (also known as Abdul Rahman), the reported leader, claimed he was born a Muslim and that his parents live in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. He told the FBI informant that he was angry about the US military killing Muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He had lived in Brooklyn and had a record of 27 arrests for minor crimes both in upstate New York State and New York City. In April 2009, the FBI informant coaxed Cromitie and his three alleged accomplices into accepting their targets. They were to bomb the
Riverdale Temple The Riverdale Temple is a Reform synagogue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City.Freedman, Samuel G"Two Rabbis Find They’re Separated Only by Doctrine" ''The New York Times'', May 30, 2009. The congregation was founded in 194 ...
and nearby
Riverdale Jewish Center The Riverdale Jewish Center is an Orthodox synagogue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City.Freedman, Samuel G"Two Rabbis Find They’re Separated Only by Doctrine" ''The New York Times', May 30, 2009. The synagogue was founde ...
in
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. They were also to fire Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles at military planes at a nearby air base, although it was not clear if they were to target any manned aircraft. In late August 2010, Hussain testified that Cromitie "hated Jews and Jewish people and he hated the American people, American soldiers. He was full of hate on those subjects. He said he would kill the president (then
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
) 700 times because he's the
Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form) 1 John ; . 2 John . ...
."


Plot

Shahed Hussain, a Pakistani immigrant, agreed to serve as an FBI informant after being arrested in 2002 over a scam involving driver's licenses. He previously served as an informant in an unrelated terrorism investigation in Albany, which resulted in the convictions of Yassin M. Aref and
Mohammed Mosharref Hossain Mohammed Mosharref Hossain is the proprietor of an Albany, New York, Albany New York State, New York pizza parlour, and a founder of the Masjid As-Salam mosque in Albany, who was arrested by Federal authorities on August 6, 2004, as part of a coun ...
. In the Bronx case he was reported to have used audio and video taped many of his meetings with the attackers. In 2008 Hussain showed up at the
Masjid al-Ikhlas Masjid al-Ikhlas (Arabic: "mosque of devotion"), also referred to as The Islamic Learning Center of Orange County, is a mosque in Newburgh, New York. Formerly a warehouse, the mosque was founded in 1992. Previously, Newburgh's Muslim community m ...
mosque under the name "Maqsood", talking of jihad and violence. Members of the congregation interviewed after the plot was exposed said that "most" members of the congregation had believed Hussain to be an informant. No one reported his talk about
Jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
to the authorities.Newburgh mosque leaders: We don’t preach hate
. By Alex Weisler. May 25, 2009.
Cromitie expressed interest to the informant of returning to Afghanistan, and hopefully becoming a
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
. In April 2009, Cromitie and his three accomplices chose their targets. They planned to both bomb the
Riverdale Temple The Riverdale Temple is a Reform synagogue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City.Freedman, Samuel G"Two Rabbis Find They’re Separated Only by Doctrine" ''The New York Times'', May 30, 2009. The congregation was founded in 194 ...
and nearby
Riverdale Jewish Center The Riverdale Jewish Center is an Orthodox synagogue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City.Freedman, Samuel G"Two Rabbis Find They’re Separated Only by Doctrine" ''The New York Times', May 30, 2009. The synagogue was founde ...
in
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, and, using Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles, shoot down military planes flying out of a nearby air base. The accused attackers bought cellphones, as well as cameras, from
Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
, to scout out the synagogues. They attempted to buy guns from a dealer in Newburgh; however, the dealer had sold out. They then drove downstate and bought a $700 pistol from a
Bloods The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, includin ...
gang leader in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. On May 6, 2009, the men traveled to Stamford, Connecticut, to pick up what they believed to be a surface-to-air guided-missile system and three improvised explosive devices, all of which were incapable of actually being used. On the way there, one of the men believed they were being followed by federal agents. They returned to Newburgh until they were satisfied that they were safe, and then turned around and headed back to Stamford. The men also conducted surveillance of military planes at the Air National Guard base, including taking photographs to prepare for the attack there.


Attempted attack and arrest

The men placed fake bombs wired to cell phones in three separate cars outside the
Riverdale Temple The Riverdale Temple is a Reform synagogue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City.Freedman, Samuel G"Two Rabbis Find They’re Separated Only by Doctrine" ''The New York Times'', May 30, 2009. The congregation was founded in 194 ...
and nearby
Riverdale Jewish Center The Riverdale Jewish Center is an Orthodox synagogue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City.Freedman, Samuel G"Two Rabbis Find They’re Separated Only by Doctrine" ''The New York Times', May 30, 2009. The synagogue was founde ...
, both in the Riverdale community of Bronx.
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
Commissioner
Raymond W. Kelly Raymond Walter Kelly (born September 4, 1941) is the longest serving Commissioner in the history of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the first man to hold the post for two non-consecutive tenures. According to its website, Kelly ...
said one of the suspects placed explosives, while the other three suspects served as lookouts. The men were returning to their vehicle and heading to attack aircraft at the
Stewart Air National Guard Base Stewart Air National Guard Base, located in Orange County, New York, is the base of the 105th Airlift Wing (105 AW), an Air Mobility Command unit of the New York Air National Guard and "host" wing for the installation. The airport also host ...
in
Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...
, with the fake Stinger missiles when law enforcement stopped them. The air base shares facilities with the civilian
Stewart International Airport Stewart International Airport, officially New York Stewart International Airport , is a public/military airport in Orange County, New York, United States. It is in the southern Hudson Valley, west of Newburgh, south of Kingston, and southwest ...
. As the men were returning to the vehicle, the signal was given for the arrest. An 18-wheel New York City Police Department vehicle blocked the end of the street. The FBI informer also served as the driver of the suspects' vehicle. Another armored vehicle arrived, and officers from the department's Emergency Service Unit smashed the blackened windows of the S.U.V., removed the men from the vehicle, and handcuffed them on the ground. None offered resistance. Both the car bombs and the missiles were actually fakes given to the plotters with the help of an informant for the FBI. Each of the two homemade bombs was equipped with about 37 pounds of inert material designed to look like C-4 plastic explosive, and "there was no danger to anyone," Kelly said.


Trial and sentencing

Cromitie, Onta Williams, David Williams, and Payen and were charged with conspiracy and weapons offenses at their first court appearance on May 21, 2009 and were ordered to be held without bail. The charges they faced – conspiracy to use
weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...
in the United States and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles – carried a maximum sentence of life in prison. All four men pleaded not guilty. In March 2010, defense lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the case on grounds of
entrapment Entrapment is a practice in which a law enforcement agent or agent of the state induces a person to commit a "crime" that the person would have otherwise been unlikely or unwilling to commit.''Sloane'' (1990) 49 A Crim R 270. See also agent provo ...
. Relying on materials provided by the government (including recordings and FBI agents' affidavits), the defense argued that the plot was proposed and closely directed by the FBI's informant, who "suggested the targets, paid for the defendants' groceries, bought a gun, provided the fake bombs and missile, assembled the explosive devices and acted as chauffeur". In late August 2010, government informant Shahed Hussain testified, stating that ringleader James Cromitie "hated Jews and Jewish people and he hated the American people, American soldiers. He was full of hate on those subjects. He said he would kill the president 700 times because he's the
Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form) 1 John ; . 2 John . ...
." After a six-week trial, the four were convicted. The lawyers for the four have filed a motion for a new trial claiming that Hussain committed perjury during the trial. David Williams told the
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
that the four were not part of plot to hurt people but to swindle Hussain, and the incriminating statements were made to make Hussain believe the four were credible terrorists. On June 29, 2011, Cromitie, Onta Williams, and David Williams were each sentenced, for their part in the attempted attack, to 25 years in prison by Manhattan
Federal Judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level. United States A US federal judge is appointed by the US President and confirmed by the US Senate in accordance with Article 3 of ...
Colleen McMahon Colleen McMahon (born July 18, 1951) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Education and career Born in Columbus, Ohio, McMahon received a Bachelor of Arts degree fr ...
. The judge criticized not only the defendants, but also what she viewed as the government's overzealous handling of the investigation. Referring to Cromitie, she said, "The essence of what occurred here is that a government, understandably zealous to protect its citizens from terrorism, came upon a man both bigoted and suggestible, one who was incapable of committing an act of terrorism on his own. It created acts of terrorism out of his fantasies of bravado and bigotry, and then made those fantasies come true." She added, "The government did not have to infiltrate and foil some nefarious plot – there was no nefarious plot to foil." She said the defendants were "not political or religious martyrs," but "thugs for hire, pure and simple." Each of the men apologized before the sentencing. Cromitie said, "I've never been a terrorist and I'll never be a terrorist. I'm very sorry I let myself get caught up in a sting like this" and added that he did not truly believe the anti-Semitic statements heard on the audiotapes at trial. On September 7, 2011, McMahon also sentenced Laguerre Payen to 25 years prison, but repeated her criticism of the government's handling of the investigation. In 2013, a federal appeals court, by a vote of two to one, upheld convictions that the three defendants were guilty as charged. Judge Newman, in rejecting the misconduct claims, stated that, "As with all sting operations, government creation of the opportunity to commit an offense, even to the point of supplying defendants with materials essential to commit crimes, does not exceed due process limits.... BIagents would have been derelict in their duties if they did not test how far Cromitie would go to carry out his desires. When a government agent encounters a Muslim who volunteers that he wants to 'do something to America' or die like a martyr, the agent is entitled to probe the attitudes of that person to learn whether his religious views have impelled him toward the violent brand of radical Islam that poses a dire threat to the United States."


Imprisonment

James Cromitie is currently serving his 25-year sentence at the
Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood Medium The Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood Medium (FCI Allenwood Medium) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Gregg Township, Union County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Allenwood Federal Correctional Com ...
, a medium-security facility in Pennsylvania, and is scheduled for release in 2031. Onta Williams is currently serving his 25-year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, McDowell, a medium- security facility in West Virginia, and is scheduled for release in 2031. David Williams is currently serving his 25-year sentence at the
Federal Correctional Institution, Loretto The Federal Correctional Institution, Loretto (FCI Loretto) is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Pennsylvania. An adjacent satellite prison camp houses minimum-security male offenders. It is operated by the Federal Bu ...
, a medium- security facility in Pennsylvania, and is scheduled for release in 2030. Laguerre Payen is currently serving his 25-year sentence at the
United States Penitentiary, Tucson The United States Penitentiary, Tucson (USP Tucson) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Arizona. It is part of the Tucson Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Tucson) and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, ...
, a high-security facility in Arizona, and is scheduled for release in 2032.


Reactions and aftermath

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
, the mayor of New York City, praised the
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
. Other local politicians also praised law enforcement and expressed relief. New York Governor
David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. A ...
said the plot illustrated the constant terrorist threat New York faces. On May 30, 2009, New York Governor
David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. A ...
announced he would give the
Riverdale Jewish Center The Riverdale Jewish Center is an Orthodox synagogue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City.Freedman, Samuel G"Two Rabbis Find They’re Separated Only by Doctrine" ''The New York Times', May 30, 2009. The synagogue was founde ...
and the Riverdale Reform Temple $25,000 each to improve their security. The money will come from the
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
(DHS) and will primarily involve the installation of alarms and surveillance equipment. An award-winning 2014
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
documentary about the case, ''
The Newburgh Sting ''The Newburgh Sting'' is a 2014 documentary film about the Federal Bureau of Investigation's sting operation on four Muslim men involved in the 2009 Bronx terrorism plot. Beginning in 2008, an FBI informant, Shaheed Hussain, recorded hours of con ...
'', showed that the attack plans and materials were all supplied by the FBI informant who coaxed the accused into participating by offering incentives including $250,000, described as a clear case of entrapment. The arrest was described (by the documentary) as having been expertly stage-managed in the style of a Hollywood production, needlessly deploying multiple armoured vehicles and over a hundred officers from various departments, including bomb squads although there was no bomb. The FBI, it was claimed, was motivated throughout by a desire to maintain public fear of terrorism and to enhance their reputation for effectiveness. A man believed to be the same Shahed Hussain subsequently founded and operated the limousine company implicated in the 2018
Schoharie limousine crash In the early afternoon of October 6, 2018, a stretch limousine crashed at the junction of New York state routes 30 and 30A, north of Schoharie and west of Albany. The crash killed 20: the driver, all 17 passengers, and two pedestrians who w ...
in upstate New York, which killed 18 aboard the vehicle and two bystanders. However, Hussain had left the United States when the crash occurred, and U.S. investigators were unable to locate, question, or positively tie him to the accident. The crash was attributed to slipshod vehicle maintenance by Hussain's company and lax oversight by New York state regulators. In a 2021
plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...
, Shahed's son Nauman Hussain, who managed day-to-day operations at the company, pleaded guilty to 20 counts of
criminally negligent homicide Negligent homicide is a criminal charge brought against a person who, through criminal negligence, allows another person to die. Examples include the crash of Aeroperu Flight 603 near Lima, Peru. The accident was caused by a piece of duct tape ...
for his role in the crash, but the plea bargain was rescinded in August 2022 after the judge at his sentencing demanded that he serve prison time. In 2022,
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
s
Elise Stefanik Elise Marie Stefanik (; born July 2, 1984) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2015. As chair of the House Republican Conference since 2021, she is the third-ranking House Republican. Stefanik's district cover ...
and
Paul Tonko Paul David Tonko ( ; born June 18, 1949) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013. He represented the 21st congressional district from 2009 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Tonko has been called a sta ...
called on the FBI to reveal whether it had any knowledge of Shahed Hussain's activities with the limousine company before the crash. At an April 2022 hearing of the
House Intelligence Committee The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), also known as the House Intelligence Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Adam Schiff. It is the primary committ ...
, Stefanik questioned FBI director
Christopher A. Wray Christopher Asher Wray (born December 17, 1966) is an American attorney who is the eighth Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, serving since 2017. From 2003 to 2005, Wray served as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Crimin ...
about whether Hussain's history as an informant may have led the bureau to protect him from consequences for the limousine company's extensive history of regulatory violations, but Wray refused to answer directly, citing confidentiality concerns. In August, Stefanik told ''
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
'' that she had not received any response from the bureau, and a spokeswoman for Tonko stated likewise when asked by the ''
Albany Times Union The ''Times Union'' is an American daily newspaper, serving the Capital Region of New York. Although the newspaper focuses on Albany and its suburbs, it covers all parts of the four-county area, including the cities of Troy, Schenectady and Sar ...
''.


See also

* 1973 New York bomb plot *
1993 World Trade Center bombing The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, U.S., carried out on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the North Tower of the complex. The urea nitrate–hydrogen gas en ...
*1993
New York City landmark bomb plot The New York City landmark bomb plot was a plan to follow up the February 1993 World Trade Center bombing and was designed to inflict mass casualties on American soil by attacking well-known landmark targets throughout New York City, United States ...
* 1997 Empire State Building shooting * 2004 financial buildings plot *
2005 Los Angeles bomb plot The 2005 Los Angeles bomb plot was a 2005 effort by a group of ex-convicts calling themselves '' Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh'' to bomb several military bases, a number of synagogues, and an Israeli consulate in California. On 31 August 2005, Kevin ...
*
2007 Fort Dix attack plot The 2007 Fort Dix attack plot involved a group of six radicalized individuals who were found guilty of conspiring to stage an attack against U.S. Military personnel stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The men were arrested by the Federal Bureau ...
* 2009 Little Rock military recruiting office shooting – al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula-inspired attack by Yemen-trained ''
jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
i'' *
2011 Manhattan terrorism plot The 2011 Manhattan terrorism plot was a conspiracy by two Muslim Arab-Americans to bomb various targets in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, United States. They had planned to attack an unspecified synagogue and one of them expresse ...
– effort by two Muslim
Arab-Americans Arab Americans ( ar, عَرَبٌ أَمْرِيكِا or ) are Americans of Arab ancestry. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World. According to the Arab American Inst ...
to attack a synagogue *
Buffalo Six The Buffalo Six (known primarily as Lackawanna Six, but also the Lackawanna Cell, or Buffalo Cell) is a group of six Yemeni-American friends who pled guilty to charges of providing material support to al-Qaeda in December 2003, based on their havin ...
*
Conversion to Islam in prisons Conversion to Islam in prisons refers to the modern phenomenon seen in the Western world of a statistically high incidence of incarcerated criminal non-Muslims converting to Islam while in the prison system. In the decade preceding 2014, the num ...
*
List of terrorist incidents, 2009 This is a timeline of incidents in 2009 that have been labelled as "terrorism" and are not believed to have been carried out by a government or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Guidelines * To be included, entr ...
*
Muhammad Hussain (islamist) Muhammad Hussain (also known as Antonio Martinez), is a homegrown terrorist from Baltimore, Maryland, who was sentenced on April 6, 2012, to 25 years in federal prison, for attempting the use of a weapon of mass destruction against federal prope ...
*
List of attacks on Jewish institutions in the United States This is a list of violent attacks and failed attack plots targeting Jewish institutions in the United States. * 1957 – November 11: A bomb at Temple Beth-El in Birmingham, Alabama was discovered before it exploded.Kellman, George. "ANTI-JEWISH ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronx terrorism plot Antisemitism in New York (state) Failed terrorist attempts in New York City New York City bomb plot, 2009 21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations in the United States Islamic terrorism in New York (state) Islam and antisemitism 2009 in New York (state) Islamic terrorism in the United States Riverdale, Bronx Newburgh, New York May 2009 events in the United States 2000s in the Bronx 2009 in New York City