Teen charged with trying to blow up Chicago bar

AP Graphics

Updated 7:14 PM ET

(CBS/AP) Undercover FBI agents arrested an 18-year-old American man who tried to detonate what he believed was a car bomb outside a downtown Chicago bar, federal prosecutors said Saturday.

Adel Daoud, a U.S. citizen from the Chicago suburb of Hillside, was arrested Friday night in an undercover operation in which agents pretending to be terrorists provided him with a phony car bomb.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago, which announced the arrest Saturday, said the device was harmless and the public was never at risk.

Daoud is charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to damage and destroy a building with an explosive.

Daoud's father, Ahmed, spoke to CBS News by phone and said that Friday night was the last time he saw his son. "I don't know, maybe you could tell me. I don't understand what he's done."

Daoud's sister, who did not want to be identified, told CBS News: "He would never do anything like that. He's only 18. He's at home all the time. This is out of thin air. I appreciate the information, but do not call us anymore."

The FBI began monitoring Daoud after he posted material online about violent jihad and the killing of Americans, federal prosecutors said.

In May, two undercover FBI agents contacted Daoud in response to the postings and exchanged several electronic messages with him in which he expressed an interest in engaging in violent jihad in the United States or abroad, according to an affidavit by an FBI special agent.

Prosecutors say that after being introduced to an undercover FBI agent who claimed to be a terrorist living in New York, Daoud set about identifying 29 potential targets, including military recruiting centers, bars, malls and tourist attractions in Chicago.

Shortly after 7 p.m. Friday, Daoud met in the suburb of Villa Park with the undercover agent who claimed to be from New York, and the two drove to downtown Chicago, where the restaurants and bars were packed with workers ringing in the weekend on a pleasantly warm evening. According to the affidavit, they entered a parking lot where a Jeep Cherokee containing the phony bomb was parked.

Daoud drove the vehicle and parked in front of a bar that was among the pre-selected targets, then walked a block away and attempted to detonate the device by pressing a triggering mechanism in the presence of the agent, according to the affidavit. He was then arrested.

The court documents do not identify the bar.

Prosecutors said Daoud was offered several chances to change his mind and walk away from the plot.

The affidavit said the Daoud was active in jihadist Internet forums and was accessing articles written by Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born radical cleric who became a key figure in the Yemen-based al Qaeda offshoot known as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Al-Awlaki was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen last year.

In his communications with one of the FBI agents about possible targets, Daoud allegedly said he wanted to carry out an attack that would kill a large number of people.

"I wanted something that's ... massive; I want something that's gonna make it in the news," he wrote, according to the affidavit. "I want to get to like, for me I want to get the most evil place, but I want to get a more populated place."

[djseavy]

Blaming the FBI is a great way to stay in denial, and that is, there are untold numbers of people out there who wish to do us great harm. They didn't entrap him; he threw out the bone and they followed along. You can't entrap someone when they are the instigator. He had many chances to stop, but he was determined to go all the way, and pushing the detonation device proves he wasn't just an immature kid; he was ready to become the next media blitz.

[hypnotoad72]

Agreed

[IAMCS]

He wasn't lured into anything. FBI found him on radical jihad forums trying to recruit others to kill Americans. The gave him several opportunities to back out of his evil plan. But, he declined and went as far as pushing detonating button. He had every intention of killing as many innocent people as he could.

[democracy8]

EXACTLY! "...there is no entrapment where a person is ready and willing to break the law and the government agents merely provide what appears to be a favorable opportunity for the person to commit the crime."

[Rejco100]

Another seriously mentally ill kid lured into a FBI trap...

[hypnotoad72]

Where is the evidence that conclusively proves mental illness rather than outright malice?

Just curious...

[formerlyluvnut]

Call it what you want...I hope the FBI cyber guys are tracking YOU too! Now go lay on a rug and chant. Moron.

[murkymook]

Was his name Emmanuel Goldstein?

[w_roos]

Message to this kid's dad -- denial is a river in Egypt (and another terrist hangout).

[IAMCS]

Entrapment doesn't exist without desire to commit a wrongful act in the first place. Now he will pay for desiring to kill hundreds of innocents.

[BWB2020]

No, he will be jailed for the attempt, not the desire.

Otherwise the entire right wing of America should pay for wanting to harm others without cause.

[hypnotoad72]

BWB2020 - they claim to be pro-life, but the moment it's 9 months later and one slides out, then one is seen as cheap labor. Who needs all of their big government views, which are very big when you consider how much of peoples' lives they want to control, when they're too busy propping up companies that offshore. Since real freedom depends on wages people earn... but if people can't connect the dots that's their problem...

[hlmelsaidtwitter]

The Islam,our Prophet(peace be upon him)condemn,ban,forbid such attacks against innocent people,Where they call for peaceful common life with others.

[Gimmeafb]

Good for you, and I respect you for saying that. Now, if many, many more would follow your lead I'm sure this would all go away in time. But, those that would harm us and then cloak themselves in your religion will continue to vex your people.

[vincentbill]

Why isn't this considered entrapment? A guy with some issues is approached by "terrorists" and offered everything he needs to do something illegal, so he does it. Seems like more of the government thugs trying to justify their existence and inflated budgets.

[hypnotoad72]

So you want the FBI abolished?

Let's play your game and say it and other government agencies are shut down. In an ironic twist of fate, some sleazy creep kills members of your family. You get upset. Now what? Blame government?

I suspect you want it both ways, though that could be obvious... And everything for free, too... typical GOP and/or corporatist mindset. You're hardly being original with your cant-laden rant...

P.S.:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57510158/ny-times-reporter-bush-white-house-didnt-listen-to-9-11-warnings/?tag=pop;stories

I could post a zillion links, but what if GWB bothered to listen to all the warnings that propped up? Would that be big government at work? Or do you prefer big government not at work? You tell us.

[democracy8]

"...there is no entrapment where a person is ready and willing to break the law and the government agents merely provide what appears to be a favorable opportunity for the person to commit the crime."

[tsigili]

This is an example of what is happening, now within the country, with this extreme, radical religion in our midst!

[hypnotoad72]

legalbutnotjust -

Thankfully we also export gas, so it can't be too much of a problem - regarding "energy independence":

http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/05/news/economy/gasoline_export/index.htm

Still, find someone who lives near an area engaged in "fracking". Then drink the water. (Hint: Don't drink the water, or put lit matches anywhere near it...)

[MittScrony]

Hey don't be stupid, don't be stupid. Tell me, how do you you weed out the "Jihadists"? Wouldn't "anybody" not just Jihadists (you moron), who have a struggle in life, actually be labeled a potential threat? If a person wrestles against the system, day in and day out, couldn't they finally be pushed over the edge? This Jihadists term, I believe, is universal for anyone who finally gave up, wasn't able to get himself out of the corner that he was pushed into so he takes it in to his own hands.

The young feller was set up though be our own government, for now other reason but to scare the chit out of you. What more effective way to control the masses than to have them turn on each other?

[democracy8]

Wow, you are 100% CLUELESS!