A Marine’s Mission to Fight Poverty, Combat Terrorism

Before joining the Marine Corps, Jake Harriman had listened to his father talk about his eight years of service in Vietnam. “He would always tell me stories about his time in Vietnam, and I always felt a commitment and need to serve,” says Harriman.  While going to school, he felt a nagging sense of wanting to travel and see the world and go on an adventure that led him to join the military.
Harriman launched Nuru International in 2008 after a life-changing experience that gave him a new perspective on life. (Courtesy Nuru International)

Harriman served in the Marine Corps for seven and half years. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served as a platoon commander in both the Infantry and a Special Operations unit called Force Recon.  During his time there, he led Marines in four operational deployments throughout Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia,  the Middle East and Africa, including two combat tours in Iraq, and was awarded the Bronze Star for actions in combat during his second tour in Iraq.

“I loved the Marine Corps, the missions, the adventure and the excitement and adrenaline rush, but when I was in combat I had some pretty severe experiences that opened up my eyes to a new way to look at the world,” he says.

In April 2003 a life-changing experience gave Harriman a new perspective on life. After witnessing the brutal murder of the family of a farmer trying to escape Iraqi militants, for the first time Harriman says he didn’t know what to do. “I put myself in this guy’s shoes and everything slowed down, and I thought, ‘I live in a world of choices. We all want to go to school; we want our kids to grow up and we decide what kind of breakfast we’ll eat or clothes I will wear. I mean, what were this guy’s choices that morning. He can watch his kids starve to death or make a desperate attempt to provide for his family. He didn’t have any choices,” says Harriman.

That was the beginning of Harriman’s desire to help and have a greater impact on the war on terror and fight against what he believes is the leading contributor of terrorism, which is extreme poverty. “I talked to my guys about my idea and that I wanted to get out and tackle this issue from a different flank,” he says.

Leaving the Marine Corps was a very difficult decision for Harriman, but so was continuing to see the same problem when deployed. “When I got out I quickly realized that extreme poverty is a massive problem. I wasn’t a Peace Corp guy or an economist. I was just a Marine with an engineering degree from the Naval Academy, but I was committed,” says Harriman
His commitment to fight extreme poverty led him to enroll in the Stanford’s Graduate School of Business to build an organization that could ultimately combat the problem of extreme poverty. Harriman launched Nuru International in 2008. “I didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes made in the past. I didn’t want to build an organization that was going to have little impact in a couple of villages. I wanted to build a company,” he says.

Nuru International focuses on creating leaders and equiping people with tools and knowledge to lead their communities out of extreme poverty.  They use local income-generating activities and address four key problems, including  hunger, ability to cope with economic shocks, preventable disease and death and lack of quality education for children. Nuru has four programs: agriculture, economic development, health care and education. “Every organization to be lasting requires two things, people and capital. We have an aggressive leadership program that identifies leaders within a community to be able to build the solutions in their communities long after we’re gone,” says Harriman.

Nuru’s goal, according to Harriman, is to go into these countries and build a working model with the leaders over seven years and leaving a self-sustaining model independent of Western staff and donations.
Since Harriman launched Nuru in Kenya and Ethiopia, where it helped a handful of farmers,  it has grown to benefit more than 30,000 people. “Extreme poverty rips away an individual’s plan for the future. I’ve seen the power of giving people the ability of make meaningful choices for their families, and I’m so excited about the potential of this model in a global scale,” says Harriman.

Southern California Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Assist al Qaeda by Providing Weapons Training to Fighters in Pakistan

WASHINGTON—An Orange County, California man pleaded guilty this morning to a federal terrorism offense, admitting that he intended to assist al Qaeda by traveling to Pakistan, where he would provide weapons training to members of the terrorist group.
Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, 24, of Garden Grove, California, pleaded guilty this morning to one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Nguyen, who also used the name Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, pleaded guilty this morning before United States District Judge John F. Walter of the Central District of California. Judge Walter is scheduled to sentence the defendant on March 21, 2014. At the time of sentencing, Nguyen faces a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.
In a plea agreement filed last Friday in United States District Court, Nguyen admitted that approximately one year ago, he travelled to Syria, where he joined opposition forces. Using a social network site during a four-month period he was in Syria, Nguyen told people that he was fighting against the Assad regime and that he had had a “confirmed kill.” After he returned to the United States, Nguyen told associates that he had offered to train al Qarda forces in Syria, but his offer had been turned down.
Between August 3, 2013 and October 11, 2013, Nguyen met with a man he thought was an al Qaeda recruiter, but who in fact was working with the FBI. Within the first few minutes of their first meetings, Nguyen began questioning the man to determine if he was a fellow jihadist, according to the plea agreement. Nguyen told the man about his exploits in Syria and said he wanted to return to jihad because “this was what he was born to do.”
During their meetings, Nguyen and the man he thought was an al Qaeda recruiter discussed how Nguyen could travel to Pakistan under a fraudulently obtained United States passport. After Nguyen gave the purported recruiter a photo of himself and a passport application with bogus information, Nguyen agreed to travel to Pakistan, where he would train 30 al Qaeda fighters for five or six weeks to prepare them “for a guerilla warfare ambush attack on coalition forces” that would take place this month, according to the plea agreement.
With the intention to travel to Pakistan to train al Qaeda forces for the ambush, Nguyen on October 1, 2013, purchased a plane ticket to travel from Mexico to Peshawar, Pakistan, he admitted in the plea agreement. On October 11, 2013, Nguyen went to a bus station in Santa Ana, where he purchased a ticket to Mexico. On this date, he was arrested by FBI agents. When he was taken into custody, Nguyen had in his possession the false passport and a computer hard drive that contained “over 180 training videos on shooting firearms.”
Nguyen has been in federal custody since his arrest.

Christmas attacks show security challenges in Iraq and Afghanistan

Two car bombs targeting Christians killed at least 38 people in southern Baghdad on Christmas.

In Afghanistan, two rounds of "indirect fire" hit the U.S. Embassy compound in Kabul, but no one was hurt. The incidents highlight the security challenges with which both Iraq and Afghanistan are grappling. Both countries have had a heavy U.S. military presence until recently.

The departure of U.S. forces from Iraq has done little to curb the near-daily cycle of violence. In Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan officials are working on an important security pact to outline the future of American troops in Afghanistan. In Iraq, a car bomb exploded outside a church in southern Baghdad just as worshipers were leaving a Christmas Day service, killing many. In another attack Wednesday, a car bomb went off at an outdoor market where many Christians shop, police said.

Altogether, at least 38 people were killed and some 70 others were wounded, the Interior Ministry said. The bomb outside the church killed 27 and wounded 56. The market attack left 11 dead and 14 wounded. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad condemned the attacks -- in the Dora area of Baghdad -- targeting "Christians celebrating Christmas."

 

"The Christian community in Iraq has suffered deliberate and senseless targeting by terrorists for many years, as have many other innocent Iraqis. The United States abhors all such attacks and is committed to its partnership with the Government of Iraq to combat the scourge of terrorism," according to a statement released by the embassy.

Iraq has experienced an uptick in sectarian violence this year as tensions simmer between the disaffected minority Sunni community and the Shiites, who dominate the government.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom notes that many people in small religious minority communities in Iraq, including Christians, have fled the country over the last decade and those that remain are "particularly vulnerable," facing "discrimination, marginalization, and neglect."

Sectarian warfare, especially between Sunnis and Shiites, raged during the Iraq War. Half or more of the pre-2003 Iraqi Christian community is thought to have left Iraq, the commission said in its 2013 annual report.

In 2003, there were thought to be 800,000 to 1.4 million Chaldean Catholics, Assyrian Orthodox, Assyrian Church of the East members, Syriac Catholics and Orthodox, Armenian Catholics and Orthodox, Protestants and evangelicals in the country, the group said.

Now, according to community leaders, the estimated number of Christians stands at around 500,000, the report said. Two rounds of "indirect fire" hit the U.S. Embassy compound in Kabul, the embassy said. No one was injured. "At approximately 6:40 local time in Kabul, approximately two rounds of indirect fire impacted the U.S. Embassy compound. All Americans are accounted for and no injuries were sustained," the embassy said in a statement Wednesday. "The Embassy continues to investigate the attack." The embassy did not elaborate on what kind of rounds were fired, or where in the compound they landed. A claim of responsibility was posted on the Taliban's official website. The group said it fired missiles at the U.S. Embassy and the main base of NATO, which leads the military coalition known as the International Security Assistance Force.

The incident comes at a pivotal time in U.S.-Afghan relations. The two countries are working on an important security pact. The deal will lay out the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan after 2014 when the NATO-led force of some 80,000 troops is scheduled to leave.

This month, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was in Afghanistan and said the security pact will be agreed upon despite a failure so far to forge a deal.

Attacks across Baghdad and northern Iraq kill 70

At least 70 people have been killed in another wave of the horrifying daily violence that is threatening to unravel in Iraq, police officials around the country said.

More than 40 were killed in Baghdad Monday, many of whom were on their way to the Shiite holy city of Karbala. Another 17 pilgrims in Mosul were also killed by militants.

In Baghdad, at least 27 people were killed and more than 50 wounded when two car bombs exploded in quick succession near a procession of pilgrims making their way by foot to Karbala for the annual commemoration of the seventh century death of their Imam Hussein, a memorial called the Arbaeen.

Hussein was killed during a battle near Karbala for control of the Muslim nation after Mohammed's death in 632. Hussein's death led to a split between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

The violence comes a day after at least 21 people died, including an anchor with al-Mousliya TV, in shootings and explosions, police said.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a statement to condemn "the appalling acts of terrorism carried out against innocent victims in Iraq" in the last two days.

Also Monday, at least eight people were killed and four others wounded when a car bomb exploded outside a police station in Baiji, authorities in Tikrit told CNN. Militants freed at least 10 prisoners, authorities said.

Minutes after the initial explosion, gunmen stormed the station and clashes erupted between them and Iraqi security forces, police officials said.

Baiji is located about 200 miles (320 km) north of Baghdad in Salaheddin province.

In nearby Tikrit, militants stormed the city council building, clashed with Iraqi security forces and occupied the facility for a time, police officials in the city said. Several hostages were freed, but at least five were killed.

State-run Iraqia TV reported that an anti-terrorism unit freed some hostages and killed the militants.

More than 8,000 people have been killed in Iraq in 2013, according to U.N. figures.

Egypt roadside bus bomb wounds five, two other devices defused

CAIRO – Five people were injured – one of them critically – when a roadside bomb hit a bus in Cairo's Nasr City district on Thursday, officials said.
The homemade device had been place near a bus stop and was detonated as passengers were getting off, a security source said.
A second bomb was found nearby and defused by an explosives ordnance team, the sourced added – and a third device was also being dealt with.

An explosion has hit a public bus in Cairo, wounding five people. Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

All three devices were in an area close to the King Fahd school complex.
Egypt’s military-backed interim government has vowed to fight "black terrorism" after Tuesday's deadly attack on a police compound in the city of Mansoura which killed 16 people and injured about 140.
It intensified its crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday, formally listing the group as a terrorist organization.
The move gives the authorities the power to charge any member of the Brotherhood with belonging to a terrorist group, as well as anyone who finances the group or promotes it "verbally, or in writing."
The Brotherhood, which estimates its membership at up to a million people, was Egypt's best organized political force until this summer's crackdown. A political and social movement founded in 1928, it won five elections after the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Suspect in LA Airport Shooting Scheduled for Court

The man authorities say killed a TSA screener and wounded three other people during a rampage through the Los Angeles airport last month is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on murder and other felony charges in a case that could bring the death penalty.

Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, is expected to be asked to enter a plea to 11 felony charges, including one of murder and three of attempted murder.

A trial date could also be set at the hearing Thursday at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, where he has been held without bail since soon after his arrest.

Authorities say the unemployed motorcycle mechanic arrived at the airport's Terminal 3 on Nov. 1 with the intention of killing TSA workers. Officials have said Ciancia had a grudge against the agency, but they have not indicated what prompted it.

After entering the terminal, police say Ciancia pulled a semi-automatic rifle from a duffel bag and began spraying the area with gunfire as hundreds of people fled in terror.

TSA Officer Gerardo Hernandez was killed. Two other uniformed TSA officers and a traveler were wounded.

Hernandez, 39, became the first TSA officer to die in the line of duty. A coroner's report showed he was struck by a dozen bullets. Witnesses have said that after first shooting him the gunman returned to shoot again when he saw Hernandez move.

Airport police arrested Ciancia following a gunfight in which they wounded him four times.

An indictment accuses him of "substantial planning and premeditation to cause the death of a person and to commit an act of terrorism."

Authorities say if convicted he could be sentenced to death.

Ciancia is from Pennsville, N.J., and moved to LA in 2012.

Wanted Fugitive Ahmad Abousamra Added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List

Vincent S. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Division, announced today the addition of wanted fugitive Ahmad Abousamra to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List (MWTL). The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading directly to the capture and return of Abousamra to the United States.
With the inclusion of Ahmad Abousamra, there are currently 30 individuals on the FBI’s MWTL, which was created in October 2001 to highlight individuals indicted for various acts of terrorism against the United States. The list remains a worldwide tool that assists the FBI in its efforts to apprehend alleged terrorists and bring them to justice.
Ahmad Abousamra was indicted after taking multiple trips to Pakistan and Yemen, where he allegedly attempted to obtain military training for the purpose of killing American soldiers overseas. On November 5, 2009, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Abousamra in the United States District Court, District of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, after he was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists; conspiracy to kill in a foreign country; conspiracy; and false statements. Abousamra was indicted on a total of nine charges and should be considered armed and dangerous.
“The FBI’s top priority is to protect and defend the United States against terrorist threats, both foreign and domestic,” said SAC Lisi. “The Most Wanted Terrorists List is another example of the FBI continuing to pursue those individuals accused of criminal conduct. In this case, Ahmad Abousamra advocates violent extremism and boldly promotes violence against United States citizens and military personnel.”
SAC Lisi goes on to say, “We believe the international exposure the Most Wanted Terrorists List provides will assist the FBI in Abousamra’s apprehension and his return to the United States to face justice.”
The Boston Division first announced and publicized the $50,000 reward in October 2012. It is still believed Abousamra may be living in Aleppo, Syria, with extended family, his wife, and at least one child, a daughter.
Abousamra is of Syrian descent and has dual citizenship in the United States and Syria. He was born in France on September 19, 1981, and is currently 32 years old. He is 5’11” tall and, from the time that he fled, weighed approximately 170 pounds, had a slim build, dark brown hair, and brown eyes. He speaks, reads, and writes fluently in English and Arabic. He has a college degree related to computer technology and was previously employed at a telecommunications company. He has a number of known aliases, to include Ahmad Abou-Samra, Ahmad Abou, Ahmad Abou Samira, Ahmad Samra, Ahmad Abu Samra, and Ahmad Abou Samra.

Men Sentenced on Terrorism Charges

MOBILE, AL—U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama Kenyen R. Brown, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin, and Stephen E. Richardson, Special Agent in Charge of the Mobile Division of the FBI, announced that Mohammad Abdul Rahman Abukhdair, 26, and Randy Lamar Wilson, Jr., 26, also known as Rasheed Wilson, were sentenced today for terrorism offenses committed in the Southern District of Alabama.
Abukhdair and Wilson were both sentenced to serve 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release by the U.S. Probation Office to follow. As part of the plea agreements, the United States recommended the maximum possible sentence, 15 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Brown said, “The United States remains vigilant and will continue to investigate individuals who take action to materially support terrorist organizations around the world. Those who materially support the violence of terror groups will be brought to justice.”
Special Agent in Charge Richardson stated, “This terrorism investigation sends a resounding message to all those individuals who wish to participate in terrorism acts and cause us harm that our resolve to both pursue them and protect the American people from the violent threats they pose is unwavering.”
Abukhdair and Wilson were indicted by a grand jury in December 2012 for conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, knowing or intending that their support was to be used in preparation for, or in carrying out, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 956 (conspiracy to kill persons or damage property outside the United States) in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339A. Wilson pleaded guilty to the charges on April 19, 2013. Abukhdair pleaded guilty on August 6, 2013. The charges stemmed from a conspiracy between Abukhdair and Wilson and others to travel from the United States to Mauritania intending to prepare to wage violent jihad there. Abukhdair and Wilson were the subjects of an investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the Mobile Division of the FBI.
Abukhdair was arrested by the FBI in Augusta, Georgia, at a bus terminal en route to fly to west Africa from outside the United States, and Wilson was arrested by the FBI in Atlanta as he attempted to board a flight to west Africa. The Joint Terrorism Task Force of the Mobile Division of the FBI conducted the investigation and presented the case for prosecution to the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher Bodnar and Sean P. Costello, as well as Annamartine Salick from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, handled the prosecution of the case on behalf of the United States.

Alleged Al-Qaeda Member Extradited to U.S. to Face Charges in Terrorism Conspiracy

WASHINGTON—Nizar Trabelsi, a Tunisian national, has been extradited to the United States to face charges in federal court in the District of Columbia stemming from a conspiracy to carry out a suicide bomb attack against Americans in Europe.
Trabelsi was arrested in Belgium on Sept. 13, 2001, before he carried out the planned attack. After 12 years in custody there, where he served time on Belgian charges, Trabelsi was extradited and transported today to face charges in the United States. Trabelsi was indicted in 2006 by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and a superseding indictment was filed the following year. The charges were unsealed today.
The indictment alleges that Trabelsi personally met in the spring of 2001, with Osama bin Laden to volunteer for a suicide bomb attack against U.S. interests. Preparations unfolded over the next several months, according to the indictment, with Trabelsi allegedly obtaining chemicals in Europe and subsequently joining others to scout a potential target: a military facility that was used by the United States and the United States Air Force.
The charges were announced by Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, John P. Carlin, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Trabelsi, 43, is charged with conspiracy to kill U.S Nationals outside of the United States; conspiracy and attempt to use weapons of mass destruction; conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization; and providing material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization.
According to the indictment, Trabelsi was residing in Germany in 2000, when he met with other conspirators and made preparations to travel to Afghanistan to train for jihad.
In the spring of 2001, the indictment alleges, he met with bin Laden in Afghanistan, and offered to carry out a suicide bomb attack. According to the indictment, he later spoke with Muhammed Atef, a high-ranking member and chief military planner of al-Qaeda, at bin Laden’s direction. Additionally, the indictment states, he met with others with whom he was to form a cell for the purpose of carrying out a suicide attack.
According to the indictment, Trabelsi and other conspirators discussed various possible targets for a suicide bomb attack and he undertook training in how to place explosives. In June 2001, the indictment states, Trabelsi traveled to Pakistan, where he obtained money from an al-Qaeda associate for use in carrying out his mission. The following month, he rented an apartment in Brussels, Belgium. While in Belgium, Trabelsi bought quantities of chemicals to be used in manufacturing a 1,000-kilogram bomb, the indictment alleges. Additionally, according to the indictment, he traveled at night with conspirators to scout the military base.
The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The Department of Justice, Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in this matter. The Department of Justice expressed appreciation to the government of Belgium and the Belgian Federal Police for their assistance. The prosecutors handling the case are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan M. Malis and Opher Shweiki of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Mara Kohn of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

If convicted of the charges filed in the indictment, Trabelsi faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated a criminal law. All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Idaho Man Pleads Guilty to Terrorism and Weapons Offenses in Connection with November 2011 Shooting at White House

WASHINGTON—Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, a 22-year-old man from Idaho Falls, Idaho, who traveled to the District of Columbia and fired at least eight rounds at the White House in November 2011, pleaded guilty today in federal court to terrorism and weapons offenses.
Ortega-Hernandez pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of injury to a dwelling and placing lives in jeopardy within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, as well as one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Additionally, he admitted that the attack was a terrorist act, and therefore, a sentencing enhancement under the United States Sentencing Guidelines is applicable.
The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen, Jr.; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Kathy A. Michalko, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service.
As a result of his plea, Ortega-Hernandez will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and a total of 24 to 27 ½ years in prison under the United States Sentencing Guidelines. The plea agreement also provides that the United States will dismiss the 17 remaining counts charged in the indictment at the time of sentencing. The Honorable Rosemary M. Collyer scheduled sentencing for January 10, 2014.
“Firing an assault rifle at the White House to make a political statement is terrorism, plain and simple,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “As we have seen this week, gunmen who come to the nation’s capital bent on violence can inflict terrible damage. This act of cowardice put lives at risk. Today’s plea demonstrates that those who come to the District of Columbia, planning to use violence to send a message, should expect to spend decades behind bars.”
“Through the extensive efforts of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force and Evidence Response Team, the bullets that Mr. Ortega-Hernandez has admitted to shooting were recovered from the White House,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave. “This expert team’s examination of impact points allowed for the FBI to identify the trajectory of the shots, which furthered our investigation into Mr. Ortega-Hernandez and held him responsible for this crime of violence.”
“The collaborative effort between the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and U.S. Secret Service helped ensure the successful outcome of this case,” said Special Agent in Charge Michalko. “It is through effective partnerships such as these that we are able to accomplish our shared goal of ensuring the safety and security of the public.”
According to the government’s evidence, the events unfolded like this:
Beginning in 2010, Ortega-Hernandez made repeated statements to many friends and associates in Idaho about his contempt for the federal government, and he espoused numerous theories regarding how the federal government was seeking to control Americans through Global Positioning System chips, fluoride, and aspartame. He also criticized the federal government for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, claiming that the United States was “bullying” other countries to obtain oil. He made numerous statements vilifying the president of the United States, calling him “the devil” and “the anti-Christ,” among other things. On numerous occasions, he told friends and associates that “he was on a mission from God to take out Obama.”
On March 19, 2011, Ortega-Hernandez purchased a Romanian Cugir SA semi-automatic (AK-47-style) assault rifle from an individual in Idaho for $550. He also purchased more than 1,200 rounds of ammunition to use with the weapon. In August 2011, Ortega-Hernandez purchased a scope kit on the Internet and asked a friend to install it on the weapon for him. Over the course of six months, Ortega-Hernandez repeatedly practiced firing the weapon at a desolate crater located on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management outside of Idaho Falls, Idaho.
On October 23, 2011, Ortega-Hernandez made two short videos at the home of one of his friends. In the videos, he praised Osama bin Laden for having the courage to stand up to the United States and called for a revolution against the federal government. Ortega-Hernandez described himself as a “cold-hearted warrior of God” and declared, “It’s time for Armageddon.”
After making the two videos, Ortega-Hernandez departed Idaho Falls and drove more than 2,000 miles, armed with his Romanian Cugir SA semi-automatic assault rifle with the attached scope and more than 180 rounds of ammunition.
On November 11, 2011, at approximately 8:50 p.m., Ortega-Hernandez drove southbound on 15th Street NW and made a right turn onto Constitution Avenue NW. Shortly after passing the entrance to the Ellipse, he stopped his vehicle in the middle of the road. With the passenger-side window of his car lowered, he pointed his assault rifle out the passenger-side window of the car and aimed directly at the White House. He fired at least eight rounds at the White House.
Following the shooting, Ortega-Hernandez fled the scene, driving erratically and at a high rate of speed westbound on Constitution Avenue. Moments later, he lost control of the vehicle and crashed near the ramp from Constitution Avenue to the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge in front of the United States Institute of Peace. After efforts to restart the vehicle failed, Ortega-Hernandez fled from the vehicle on foot.
Following the crash, law enforcement launched a multi-jurisdictional search for Ortega-Hernandez. On November 14, 2011, he was photographed riding inside an empty hopper car on a cargo train in the area of Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia. The train was headed in a northwest direction away from Washington, D.C. The following day, he was identified standing outside a car wash in South Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and asking for a ride. A witness drove him to a store in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where he purchased some items. He appeared on the store’s surveillance video. On November 16, 2011, Ortega-Hernandez returned to the hotel in Indiana, Pennsylvania, where he had previously stayed with friends. Upon his return, the hotel staff notified the Secret Service, and the Secret Service coordinated his arrest by the Pennsylvania State Police.
The FBI examined the area around the White House and located approximately eight bullet impact points on the south side of the building on or above the second story. Two bullets were recovered from the White House: one from a window frame on the Truman Balcony and one found on the ground east of the South entrance. The FBI determined that both of those bullets were fired from Ortega-Hernandez’s assault rifle. The FBI also recovered a bullet jacket that was found in the window sill of the Truman Balcony, which was also fired from Ortega-Hernandez’s assault rifle.
At the time of the shooting, two U.S. Secret Service officers were stationed on the northeast section of the roof of the White House. One of the bullets fired by Ortega-Hernandez struck the roof of the White House within approximately 20 feet of where the officers were stationed. The officers each reported hearing approximately six shots fired. In addition, another U.S. Secret Service Officer was stationed at the South Portico underneath the Truman balcony at the time of the shooting. Several of the bullets fired by Ortega-Hernandez struck the Truman balcony directly above where this officer was stationed. This officer heard approximately six to eight shots and the sound of what appeared to be debris falling from above. The officer took cover behind the stairwell, drew a firearm, and readied a shotgun.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, and Special Agent in Charge Michalko expressed their appreciation to all those who diligently investigated this case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Park Police. They also acknowledged the assistance provided by the Pennsylvania State Police; the Arlington County, Virginia Police Department; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania; the FBI Laboratory at Quantico, Virginia; FBI field offices in Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City, including the Idaho Falls Resident Agency; and Secret Service field offices in Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, and Boise, Idaho. Additionally, they thanked those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Paralegal Specialists Jenifer Rowe and Devron Elliott, Victim/Witness Coordinator Dawn Tolson-Hightower, and Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling.
Finally, they commended the efforts of Special Assistant U.S. Attorney George P. Varghese and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alessio D. Evangelista of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, who are prosecuting the case.