YONATHAN MELAKU DETAINED NEAR THE PENTAGON
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Yonathan Melaku, who was carrying a suspicious device and pro-Jihadi literature, like “Al Qaeda,” “Taliban rule” and “defeated coalition forces”, was arrested in Arlington National Cemetery, on early Friday 06/17/2011, triggering a bomb scare that snarled Washington’s morning rush hour. The FBI, however, determined that the material in his backpack was harmless.
Brenda Heck, special agent in charge of counterterrorism for the FBI, “There was not a device and the products found are determined right now to be inert.” Heck also said, “We believe he did act alone.”
Two separate law enforcement sources told ABC News identified the suspect as Yonathan Melaku, 22, of Alexandria, Va. He is a naturalized Muslim citizen from Ethiopian descent who joined the Marine Corps in 08/2007 as a reservist, according to Fox News, and is a lance corporal in the Marine Corps Reserve, 4th engineer battalion. Officials said there was no evidence that Yonathan Melaku served in Iraq or Afghanistan. U.S. Park Police said no charges have been filed against him yet.
The statements were found in a notebook that contained mostly notes for a financial class. There was also was a page containing words “Al qaeda,” “Taliban rules,” “mujahidin” and “defeated coalition forces.”
Yonathan Melaku allegedly told police that there were other “devices” in the area and also the location of a vehicle.
Police were investigating a vehicle, a red 2011 Nissan, that contained materials authorities were examining to determine if it was a bomb or other weapon. The possible device was reported neutralized, according to law enforcement spokesmen at the scene.
The Department of Homeland Security’s spokesman Matthew Chandler would only say that the agency is monitoring a suspicious vehicle.
A spokesman for the National Park Police Sgt. David Scholsser said in a news conference the man (Yonathan Melaku )was found overnight in the Arlington National Cemetery, located near the Pentagon. He was at the cemetery after dark and when questioned by the police was uncooperative.
* Ballistics obtained at the suspect’s home have been linked to evidence found at the scenes of the 2010 shootings, including the Marine Corps Museum in Triangle, Va., on 10/17/2010, the Pentagon shooting two days later, on 10/19/2010, and the Marine recruiting station in Chantilly, Va., on 10/26/2010, Fox News has learned on Wednesday 06/22/2011.
The first bullet holes were found Oct. 17, when $20,000 worth of windows and glass was shattered at the Marine Corps Museum. Two day later, six shots were fired into the south side of the Pentagon, which will be serving as a staging area for runners and others during the Marine Corps Marathon. The suspect then struck the recruiting center. Later in October, shots were fired again at the museum, apparently from the side of the building facing Interstate 95. The shootings all occurred within 40 miles of each other in northern Virginia..
* Hussein Abdi-Hassan, 24, of Minneapolis pleaded guilty, on Wednesday 04/27/2011, to false information/hoaxes in Federal Court. Sentencing has been set for 08/22/2011.
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