Tucson,
AZ – An Arizona grand jury has indicted an accused Islamic State sympathizer on
charges of plotting to stage an attack Phoenix-area Jews and other targets with
bombs and other weapons, prosecutors said on Thursday.
The
suspect, Mahin Khan, 18, of Tucson, was arrested on July 1 by FBI agents in an
investigation that began with citizens alerting authorities to suspicious
behavior, according to a statement from the Arizona attorney general’s office.
In
a three-count indictment, Khan was charged with terrorism, conspiracy to commit
terrorism and conspiracy to commit misconduct involving weapons. He faces a
maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted with aggravating factors proven
at trial, attorney general spokeswoman Mia Garcia said.
He
was scheduled for arraignment on July 14, she said.
Prosecutors
said the charges stemmed from an investigation by the FBI and state authorities
of Khan’s repeated communications with an individual he believed was an Islamic
State fighter.
In
the communications, prosecutors said, Khan sought to “obtain weapons including
pipe bombs or pressure cooker bombs” for an attack on a Motor Vehicle Division
office in Maricopa County.
The
identity of Khan’s alleged co-conspirator, or whether the person was an
informant or undercover FBI agent, was not disclosed. Neither the FBI nor the
state attorney general’s office would provide further details.
In
a probable cause statement filed in the case earlier this week, the FBI said
Khan described himself in an email as an “American Jihadist who supports”
Islamic State, the militant group that has seized large swaths of territory in
Syria and Iraq and claimed responsibility for bomb and gun attacks in France,
Belgium and Bangladesh.
The
document cites an alleged email in which Khan asks a contact he believes to be
Pakistani to furnish him with assault rifles and a pistol because he wants to “take
out marines and jews.” It also accuses him of “identifying an Air Force
recruitment center in Tucson as a potential target for a terrorist attack.”
The
indictment makes no mention of the recruitment office.
Although
the investigation was continuing, “there is not believed to be a further
threat” from Khan or his alleged activities, prosecutors said.
He
was being held without bond in the Maricopa County Jail, prosecutors said.
Court documents filed by the government said that Khan, who has lived with his
family in Tucson since 2011, had indicated he would flee to Syria or Pakistan
if released.
