U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. (Photo: Reuters)
DEVELOPING: Officials say an Ohio man has been arrested for plotting to attack the U.S. Capitol Building, and that he was inspired by ISIS, otherwise known as ISIL or the Islamic State. Christopher Lee Cornell, 20, of Green Township, who converted to Islam and changed his name to Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah, considered members of Congress “enemies” and planned to kill employees and officers working in and around the U.S. Capitol.
Cornell’s Twitter account posted statements, videos and other pro-ISIS content, as well as support for radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in 2011.
According to the criminal complaint, Cornell said he thought he was fulfilling the directives of the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, or ISIL.
“I believe we should meet up and make our own group in alliance with the Islamic State and plan operations ourselves,” Cornell wrote in a communication with a confidential informant on his Twitter account. “We already got the thumbs up from the Brothers over there and Anwar al-Awlaki and many others before his martyrdom.”
The criminal complaint further revealed he planned to build, plant and detonate pipe bombs in the U.S. Capitol Building. The plan also called for him to open fire on any employees and officials after the bombs went off.
