Two Men Arrested in Plot to Attack Seattle Military Processing Facility

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Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, also known as Joseph Anthony Davis, 33, of SeaTac, and Walli Mujahidh, aka Frederick Domingue Jr., 32, of Los Angeles, appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday on charges alleging they purchased machine guns and grenades from a paid police informant earlier this week as they moved into the final stages of planning an attack they hoped would inspire an uprising among radical Muslims in the United States.

Mujahidh arrived in Seattle from Los Angeles on Tuesday and he, Abdul-Latif and the informant went to lunch, according to details contained in a 38-page complaint. The men discussed details of the attack, including where they would hide the weapons.

The informant predicted, according to the complaint, that the case would make the news, and Mujahidh “described the imaginary headline of a newspaper article: ‘Three Muslim Males Walk Into MEPS building, Seattle, Washington, and Gun Down Everybody.’

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Details contained in the complaint and gleaned from other court documents and interviews show the men to be “self-radicalized,” with no known affiliation to al-Qaida or other terrorist organizations.

Both men are U.S. citizens and converts to Islam, according to the charges. {snip}

The men are charged with conspiracy to murder U.S. officers, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction (a grenade) and other firearms-related counts. {snip}

U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan urged people to keep the arrests in perspective.

“These are the actions of individuals who adhere to a violent and extreme ideology and do not represent and should not reflect on the Muslim community as a whole,” she said. “We hope there is no backlash here. That would not be fair or what we stand for.”

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According to charges, Abdul-Latif was recorded saying his anger over the United States military’s real or perceived activities in Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen motivated the planned attack.

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On June 14, Abdul-Latif met with the informant, who showed him several weapons provided by federal agents for a “show and tell.” The meeting was taped. Abdul-Latif chose an M16-style weapon because it had more firepower that would “leave a bigger hole,” according to the charges.

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At least twice during the investigation, Abdul-Latif said the attack was inspired by the murderous shooting spree at Fort Hood in 2009, where a Muslim Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, killed 13 people and wounded 29 others.

The men planned to storm the building, kill the security guards, order everyone to the floor and kill as many military recruits as possible, according to the federal complaint. They talked about how they would target men wearing green and with short haircuts, according to the charges. The men scouted the center and discussed in detail the attack, including plans to kill the security guard in the lobby and order everyone else to the floor.

Grenades would be thrown in the cafeteria, and then they would walk through the hallways, firing their assault weapons, the complaint says.

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