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KIMERY REPORT
By: Anthony Kimery
When 47-year-old Abdullatif Ali Aldosary, an Iraqi refugee admitted into the US in 1997 and later convicted of a felony, was
identified as a suspect in connection with the detonation of an IED on
the morning of Nov. 30 at the back door of a Social Security
Administration office in Casa Grande, Ariz., federal agents with the
Phoenix Division FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) swiftly executed a
search warrant on the suspect’s Coolidge, Ariz. home, where they found
alleged evidence of bomb manufacturing and a small cache of guns and
ammunition.
Numerous witnesses had described a nearly identical
car leaving the scene, including a police officer who obtained the
vehicle’s license number, which authorities said is owned by Aldosary.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland
Security Investigations (HSI) agents were seen joining FBI and local law
enforcement officers when the FBI served Aldosary with the search
warrant at his home, where FBI agents found him washing his car in an
alleged attempt to destroy evidence of the bombing. The explosion
allegedly occurred before Aldosary had driven away, according to the
criminal complaint against him.
Following the stunning discoveries made at his residence, the criminal complaint and “Affidavit of Probable Cause”
was issued Dec. 1 charging Aldosary with two felonies: alleged use of
“fire and explosives” to damage a building, and felony possession of a
firearm.
It’s unclear whether the FBI or ICE HSI are
investigating Aldosary for links to domestic terrorism, or whether they
intend to continue to treat the case as a simple domestic explosives
crime as outlined in the criminal complaint. Nevertheless, the
blogosphere has been abuzz with claims that this is another instance in
which the Obama administration is refusing to call a bombing an act of
terrorism by a Muslim. But there’s so far been no evidence presented
that Aldosary is a Muslim or an adherent of jihadi ideology.
“This thing is fluid,” FBI spokesman Manuel Johnson
told reporters Friday, noting that other agencies were involved in the
investigation and that “at this point it would be premature to
speculate.”
John Lopez, a spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office, declined to comment.
Aldosary appeared in federal court Monday but said
nothing and entered no plea, causing the judge to question whether he
understood the English language, although attorneys and federal
officials assured the judge that, for a variety of reasons, they are
confident he understands English.
Aldosary appeared for a Detention Hearing and
Status Hearing regarding Preliminary Hearing and Counsel on Wednesday
before US District Court-District of Arizona US Federal Judge David
Duncan. He's been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of
maliciously damaging federal property by means of explosives and being a
felon in possession of a firearm, and is scheduled for arraignment in
Phoenix on Tuesday.
Although federal and other law enforcement
authorities are tight lipped about the on-going investigation, the
criminal complaint against Aldosary raises scores of disturbing
questions, including questions about whether Aldosary, who previously
served time in prison for aggravated assault, may have had unidentified
accomplices given certain evidence found at his home, sources familiar
with the case told Homeland Security Today.
The evidence may also indicate that Aldosary was planning additional bombing plots.
According to the affidavit of three-year JTTF
veteran, FBI Special Agent Carey Cooper, investigators found evidence
Aldosary may have been planning to manufacture a powerful military grade
explosive known as “RDX” that has been used in “many bomb plots,
including terrorist plots,” the criminal complaint stated.
Two 1-gallon containers of muriatic acid, nitric
acid, 70 percent isopropyl alcohol, one pound of smokeless powder, mace
and solid fuel cubes were found inside Aldosary’s home, as were “two
pieces of paper with handwritten notes … located on the floor [and]
behind a dresser in the master bedroom" that "referred to ‘AN’ and how
to obtain ‘AN’ from cold packs," according to the criminal complaint.
Special Agent Cooper explained “that AN commonly
refers to ammonium nitrate … a common precursor used in the making of
explosives.”
In addition, “numerous documents were found secreted
behind a photograph hung on the wall in the study” of Aldosary’s home
that included “several Internet printouts describing materials and
equipment needed to make RDX (cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine), homemade
nitroglycerine, ammonium nitrate from homemade chemicals, how to make a
bomb from homemade chemicals and recipes from the Anarchists Chemical
Cook Book,” the complaint stated.
Also found was “a piece of paper containing
handwritten notes labeled ‘materials needed’ … located with the
aforementioned Internet printouts,” the complaint added. And “on the
back of one of the documents were handwritten notes pertaining to mixing
potassium nitrate with sugar and baking soda, then adding an organic
powdered dye.”
“Henna red hair dye, yellow egg dye, sugar and
baking soda were located in the kitchen cabinet adjacent to the stove,”
and “all items were located on the same shelf,” the complaint stated.
The complaint further said that a Russian-made Saiga
7.62 AK-style semi automatic rifle and 9mm Ruger were found “secreted
in the attic,” along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition – including
“approximately 200 rounds of Russian-made ball and hollow point
ammunition” -- and extended capacity rifle magazines.
According to the complaint, Aldosary had a Bank of
America checking account with a balance of $21,642. An inquiry with the
“Arizona Department of Economic Security (AZDES) … revealed … Aldosary
has no wages reported through AZDES," the complaint said.
Aldosary purchased his 1,866 square foot home, which
was built in 2007, for $95, 990 on Aug. 12, 2008, about four months
before having been arrested on charges of aggravated harassment on April
14, 2008, according to records and the criminal complaint. He was
sentenced to two months in jail and three years of probation for
aggravated harassment, according to the complaint.
According to Arizona corrections records,
Aldosary began serving a sentence for aggravated harassment on April
24, 2009, given supervised released in Dec. 2009, and completed his
sentence the following Jan. The criminal complaint, however, stated that
his probation was revoked on April 24, 2009, at which time he was
sentenced to one year in the Arizona Department of Corrections.
State records for the period of Aldosary’s
probationary period show he held down 12 separate low-paying jobs such
as “groundskeeper,” “paid labor pool,” “store room assistant,” and
“kitchen semi-skilled.”
On March 20, 2009, the criminal complaint stated,
Aldosary was found in felony “violation of court order” by the Coolidge,
Ariz. Police Department.
Police records reportedly also show Aldosary
was arrested Aug. 29, 2009 at Casa Grande Fitness for disorderly
conduct and assault. Police said he displayed pornographic pictures and
struck a man.
State records indicate that on April 29, 2009, the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) obtained what appears to have been
an ICE immigration “detainer warrant.” An immigration detainer serves
to advise the law enforcement agency holding a person of interest to ICE
that ICE may “seek custody of an alien presently in the custody of that
agency, for the purpose of arresting and removing the alien.” An
immigration detainer is a request by ICE to state or local law
enforcement to detain an individual after he or she is eligible for
release to enable ICE to assume custody.
Authorities said such detainer warrants do not necessarily mean, though, that an individual will be deported by DHS pending investigation.
According to records, the detainer warrant was
cancelled in Dec. 2009, coinciding with Aldosary being released on
supervised probation that same month, records indicated. However,
according to reports, ICE has issued another detainer-warrant for him,
meaning the Fed's have requested that he be remanded to their custody
for possible deportation if he's convicted for the Nov. 30 bombing.
Similar detainer warrants reportedly were issued in the case of three members of an Iraqi refugee family living in Phoenix who in Nov. were sentenced to probation
for their roles in the abuse of a female family member who refused an
arranged marriage. They pleaded guilty in October, 2011 to disorderly
conduct, unlawful imprisonment and domestic violence, and misdemeanor
assault.
ICE officials said Thursday that Aldosary's
previous arrests and probation violation weren't considered deportable
offenses, and that he had reapplied for a green card, according to ICE
spokesman Gillian Christensen. In short, ICE said its legal review of
Aldosary's criminal record determined he wasn't removable. But ICE
officials also acknowledged that he has now been flagged for a potential
re-review of his status in the US following his arrest and indictment
on the charges stemming from his alleged bombing of the Social Security
Administration office.
Homeland Security officials also have declined
to confirm whether Aldosary is in the United States on a temporary visa
or whether he'd orginally been given refugee status.
Several months after Aldosary's application for a
green card was denied, immigration officials reportedly reopened his
application pursuant to a review of cases involving immigrants allowed
into the US who may be exempt from post-9/11 immigration laws that are
supposed to prohibit persons who have engaged in "terrorism-related
activities" under the "Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds"
as defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Officials said
Aldosary was denied a green card for that reason. His
re-application for a green card has been pending ever since, officials
said.
Rep. Paul Gosar's (R-AZ) chief legal counsel, Thomas Van Flein, wrote to
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Chief James McCament on
Wednesday, Nov. 5, asking for an explanation regarding Aldosary's
status, and was told his case had been put on hold "pursuant to the
terrorism-related grounds of inadmissibility" under the Immigration and
Nationality Act.
According to Van Flien's letter,
McCament's office had informed Gosar in response to an inquiry his
office made about Aldosary in Nov. 2011 that "Mr. Aldosary was not
eligible for permanent status 'pursuant to the terrorism related grounds
of inadmissibility' explaining that 'individuals who engage in
terrorism-related activity ... are barred from receiving various
immigration benefits.' The denial of citizenship to resident aliens who
engage in terrorism related activity is, of course, common sense. As
should be thier prompt deportation."
"In light of the IED planted outside the Casa
Grande Social Security Administration Office that was detonated on Nov.
30, 2012," Van Flein said in his letter to McCament that "the
Congressman raised serious concerns about how an alien who was denied
permanent citizenship on the basis of 'terrorism related grounds' was
not detained and being processed for deportation already one year ago
... It appears to the Congressman that a known terrorist was allowed to
travel freely in Arizona and was allegedly able to engage in terrorism
more than a year after DHS had already determined he engaged in
terrorism activity."
McCament told Gosar in December 2011 that roughly 4,400 immigration cases are on hold because no exemption applies. However,
he also noted that "Since 2006, USCIS has not applied the terrorism
related inadmissibility grounds in approximately 11,000 cases under
existing exercises of the [Homeland Security] Secretary's discretionary
authority."
Since 2007, more than 64,000 Iraqi nationals were
admitted into the United States as of March 12, 2012 who met refugee
criteria, including a background security investigation, according to
USCIS.
Conversely, from fiscal year 1999 through FY2012,
nearly 200 Iraqi nationals were apprehended having illegally entered
the United States between Ports of Entry on the Southern border,
according to Customs and Border Protection statistics provided to Homeland Security Today. It's unclear how many, if any, sought political asylum in the US or were treated as refugees.
In July, 2011, Iraqi refugees were rechecked for terrorism ties due to officials’ concerns about lax refugee status immigration security checks. The Los Angeles Times reported that
“Officials fear lapses in immigration security may have let insurgents
and potential terrorists enter the country” following US
counterterrorism intelligence having “warned that Al Qaeda leaders in
Iraq and Yemen had tried to target the US refugee stream, or exploit
other immigration loopholes, in an attempt to infiltrate the country
with operatives.”
According to immigration authorities, DHS
initially provided the FBI with the names of about 300 Iraqi refugees
that were identified as needing further investigation. The FBI has
declined to comment on the results of its investigations or whether any
of the Iraqis pose a homeland security threat.
In August, the US Department of Justice said Iraqi
citizen Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, who authorities said entered the
United States in July 2009, pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges
in US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Hammadi’s
co-defendant, Waad Ramadan Alwan, pleaded guilty to all counts of a
23-count indictment.
Having entered the United States in April 2009,
Alwan was charged with conspiracy to kill US nationals abroad;
conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) against US
nationals abroad; distributing information on the manufacture and use of
IEDs; attempting to provide material support to terrorists and to Al
Qaeda in Iraq; as well as conspiracy to transfer, possess and export
Stinger missiles."
"We are committed to conducting the most rigorous
screening in order to ensure that those being admitted through the
refugee program are not seeking to harm the United States," USCIS stated
in April, adding, "In May 2007, DHS announced and implemented an
Administration-coordinated, enhanced background and security check
process for Iraqi refugees applying for resettlement in the United
States."
USCIS said "The security check regime, including
both biographic and biometric checks, has been enhanced periodically
over the last several years as new opportunities and interagency
partnerships with the law enforcement and intelligence communities have
been identified. These enhancements are a reflection of the commitment
of DHS and other agencies to conduct the most thorough checks possible
to prevent dangerous individuals from gaining access to the United
States through the refugee program."
"The latest enhancement to the refugee security
check regime," USCIS said, "involves a new 'pre-departure' check shortly
before refugees are scheduled to travel to the US. It is intended to
identify whether any new derogatory information exists since the initial
checks were conducted. These pre-departure checks went into effect in
late 2010. No case is finally approved until results from all security
checks have been received and analyzed."
Gosar said in an earlier statement that “The alleged
bomber, Abdullatif Aldosary, is ... an Iraqi refugee who was given the
privilege to live in our country, but has apparently repaid our
generosity and kindness with repeated violence and aggression,” Gosar
said. “The FBI reports the use of a high explosive called ‘RDX’ that is
often used in terrorist plots. It is my expectation that this case will
be fully investigated and the full weight of law enforcement brought to
bear. The recent bombing in Casa Grande reminds us that we have to all
have a responsibility to be vigilant and to alert authorities of any
threats in our communities.”
Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, told the Washington Times
that Aldosary’s background will be carefully scrutinized. King has long
had concerns about security issues involving the US’s Iraqi refugee
programs. “I assume that’s how he got in,” King was quoted saying,
adding, “It should be and will be looked into … absolutely. It’s a real
concern we have here.”
King told the Washington Times that authorities should “definitely track down and figure out how he got in here and what his background was.”
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