Cleveland Bomb Plot Foiled, Five Arrested
A Cleveland bomb plot has been foiled, and five men were taken into custody after an undercover sting revealed plans to destroy the Route 82 Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge with what they believed were explosive devices.
The bomb plot targeted the span, which bridges Brecksville, Ohio and Sagamore Hills, spanning the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. And while the arrests do coincide with the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden a year ago at the hands of a squadron of elite US military forces, the Feds say the Cleveland bomb plot has nothing to do with the anniversary.
The Cleveland bomb plot was also toothless, agents say, and the explosives purchased to carry out the plans were “inoperable.” According to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Force, no danger was ever presented by the materials acquired by the men, which were provided by an undercover FBI agent and were inert. Officials say the entire alleged operation was “controlled by an undercover FBI employee.”
According to MSNBC, the five men described as anarchists arrested in connection with the plot are Douglas L. Wright, 26, Brandon L. Baxter, 20, Anthony Hayne, 35, Connor C. Stevens, 20, and Joshua S. Stafford, 23. US Attorney Steven Dettelbach describes the charges:
“The complaint in this case alleges that the defendants took specific and defined actions to further a terrorist plot. The defendants stand charged based not upon any words or beliefs they might espouse, but based upon their own plans and actions.”
At least three of the men were charged with conspiracy and attempted use of explosive materials to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce in connection with the Cleveland bomb plot.
