Key West Bomb Plot: ISIS Supporter Planned Attack On South Beach In Miami, FBI Says


Key West bomb plot suspect Harlem Suarez (AKA Almlak Benitez) allegedly planned a terrorist attack on South Beach in Miami in support of ISIS. The Florida man was arrested on Monday in an FBI sting and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Harlem Suarez, 23, planned the Miami South Beach bombing to show his support for ISIS, according to Department of Justice reports. The FBI became aware of the beach bomb plot after being alerted to Facebook postings by Almlak Benitez in April. In the social media posts, the Key West resident allegedly expressed feelings of support for the Islamic State.

According to the criminal complaint, the FBI was alerted to Facebook posts made by Suarez in April of this year, in which he expressed his support for the Islamic State. An informant working for the federal agency reportedly contacted the Key West bomb plot suspect. Suarez allegedly told the FBI informant about his plans to bomb South Beach in July.

Almlak Benitez also reportedly used Facebook to garner bomb-making tips and asked that someone send him a “video or something” and details about how to make a bomb, which could wreak havoc and cause carnage on the Miami beach.

The bomb would have allegedly contained galvanized nails, be hidden inside a backpack, and detonated remotely via a cellphone. During the FBI sting operation, Harlem Suarez was given a fake bomb by undercover agents, arrest records indicate.

“We can make it [bomb] with a phone,” Suarez allegedly told the FBI informant earlier in July during a recorded phone conversation. “I can go to the beach at night time., put the thing in the sand, cover it up so the next day I just call and the thing is gonna, is gonna make a real hard noise.”

The Key West bomb plot suspect also allegedly told the FBI informant that he wanted to put bombs underneath police cars, in front of officer’s homes, and was considering buying a vehicle and making a car bomb. According to investigators, Suarez bought two boxes of nails at a Home Depot and also purchased a pre-paid cell phone and backpack to prepare for the South Beach bomb attack. The FBI informant said that he and Benitez/Suarez had agreed that the undercover operative would take the materials to another man (FBI agent posing as an ISIS operative) to have the bomb constructed.

What do you think about the Key West bomb plot suspect’s plan to conduct a terror attack on South Beach? Are you concerned about spending time in crowded public places because of potential ISIS attacks?

[Image via Shutterstock]

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