A military recruitment station attack was planned by a Maryland man, according to the FBI. He is being charged with the attempted murder of federal officers and employees, and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction against federal property.
Antonio Martinez, aka Muhammad Hussain, age 21, is a Baltimore resident and U.S. citizen, and was charged on Wednesday after being connected with what the U.S. Department of Justice is calling "a scheme" to attack a military recruitment center in Catonsville, Maryland.
The FBI and the DOJ said in a statement that Martinez tried to remotely detonate what he thought were explosives inside a parked vehicle in the parking lot of the military recruitment station. He was arrested after making the attempt, and arraigned in a Baltimore court later in the day. Federal officials emphasized that Martinez's attempt at violence and subsequent arrest were part of a sting operation, and that there had never been any danger to the public.
“There was no actual danger because the people Mr. Martinez asked to help carry out his attack actually were working with the FBI," stated U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein in a press release.
"Every person Mr. Martinez asked to join in his scheme either declined to participate, tried to talk him out of it, or reported him to the FBI, and there is no evidence that Mr. Martinez received direction or support from any other person."
Rosenstein added that an undercover investigation comes about only in cases when law enforcement officials and prosecutors decide there is a risk that "cannot be ignored."
