The destiny of a wolf cub is to become a wolf,
even if it is reared among the sons of men.
-Ibn el-Arabi
The internet and social media are tools that are used to radicalize individuals in the United States. But the important cogs in this process are those who have manipulated and motivated those to undertake these attacks. One such cog was Junaid Hussain. Hussain manipulated two individuals in Phoenix and three individuals in New England to undertake attacks in the United States.
One of those individuals Nicholas Rovinski who is awaiting trial for conspiring to provide material support to ISIS had been plotting to behead people while he is locked up awaiting trial.
Last year David Wright, Usaamah Abdullah Rahim and Nicholas Rovinski, conspired to behead Pamela Geller who had organized the May 3, 2015, Mohammad Art Exhibit & Contest in Garland, Texas. But they were not the first to plan to attack and kill Pamela Geller. Two others from Phoenix had been manipulated to kill Pamela Geller. Elton Simpson and Nadir Hamid Soofi drove over 16 hours from Phoenix, Arizona to attack the event in Garland, Texas. The two men were encouraged to launch this attack by Junaid Hussain, a key ISIS leader also known as Abu Hussain al-Britani.
True believers do not stray from their path. Simpson and Soofi drove east 1081 miles on Interstate 10 and Interstate 20 to carry out their attack in Garland, Texas. The two men wore body armor and had three assault rifles, three handguns and 1500 rounds of ammunition. Just before launching their attack Simpson tweeted “#texasattack: May Allah accept us as mujahideen.” The two terrorists shot a security guard and at police in Garland, Texas before both being killed. The organizers of the exhibit at the Curtis Culwell Center had 40 off-duty police and security officers to protect the event. Immediately after the attack, Junaid Hussain tweeted “Allahu Akbar!!! 2 of our brothers just opened fire.” This would not be the last plot to kill Pamela Geller.
Usaamah Rahim had connected with ISIS members overseas including Junaid Hussain. Hussain had used Twitter and social media to encourage supporters to carry out attacks in the United States and Europe. Hussain had instructed Rahim to kill Pamela Geller in New York.
On May 5, 2015, two days after the attack in Garland, Texas, ISIS posted a propaganda statement calling for the slaughter of Pamela Geller. The statement entitled “The New Era” was posted to justpasteit.com. The statement contained the following:
The attack by the Islamic State in America is only the beginning of our efforts to establish a wilyah in the heart of our enemy. Our aim was the khanzeer Pamela Geller and to show her that we don’t care what land she hides in or what sky shields her, we will send all our lions to achieve her slaughter. This will heal the hearts of our brothers and disperse the ones behind her. To those who protect her, this will be your only warning of housing this woman and her circus show. Everyone who houses her events, gives her a platform to spill her filth are legitimate targets. We have been watching closely who was present at this event and the shooting of our brothers. We knew that the target was protected. Our intention was to show how easily we give our lives for the sake of Allah.
We have 71 trained soldiers in 15 different states ready at our word to attack any target we desire. Out of the 71 trained soldiers 23 have signed up for missions like Sunday. We are increasing in number bismillah. Of the 15 states, 5 we will name. Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, California and Michigan. The disbelievers who shot our brothers think that you have killed someone untrained, nay, they give you their bodies in plain view because we were watching.
David Wright, of Everett Massachusetts and his Uncle Usaamah Rahim, of Roslindale, Massachusetts connected with Nicholas Rovinski who lived in Warwick, Rhode Island. The three men conspired to “behead” Pamela Geller. By May 27, 2015, Rahim had ordered three large knives from Amazon. On May 31, 2015, Wright and Rahim drove from Boston and picked up Rovinski at his residence in Warwick, Rhode Island. The three drove to a deserted damp beach in Warwick to talk about the plan to behead Geller.
On June 2, 2015, at about 5:00 a.m. Rahim called Wright and advised him of a change of plan. He no longer planned to conduct the attack in New York on Pamela Geller. Instead Rahim advised Wright that he wished to “meet Allah sooner” and “leave his worldly life.” Rahim advised Wright that he intended to attack “those boys in blue,” police officers locally in Massachusetts either that day or the next. Rahim had been under surveillance and his phone tapped by law enforcement so police knew that Rahim intended to attack law enforcement in Boston instead of going to New York to attack Pamela Geller.
At about 7:00 a.m. Rahim was approached by Boston Police Officers and FBI Agents near a CVS parking lot on Washington Street. Rahim brandished a knife and was shot twice by law enforcement.
This is not the first time the police have been targeted by homegrown terrorists who have been radicalized. In 2014, Zale Thompson, a convert to Islam took the kunya Zaim Farouq Abdul-Malik and attacked four New York Police officers on a street in Queens. Thompson attacked the four officers with a hatchet. Thompson struck two officers with the hatchet before being killed.
Terrorists have targeted police and will continue to do so. In the Charlie Hebdo attack the terrorists thought nothing of killing two police officers. In a couple weeks police officers from across the country will gather at Judiciary Square to honor those officers that lost their lives in the line of duty. These plots show how homegrown terrorists are a constant danger to the law enforcement community and we must remember that the boys in blue put their lives on the line every day they go to work.
The Point KYE 