2013 Wichita bomb attempt

2013 Wichita bomb plot
Location Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
Date December 13, 2013 (2013-12-13) (UTC−5)
Target Wichita Mid-Continent Airport
Attack type
 Suicide bombing, Islamic terrorism
Weapons Car bomb
Deaths 0
Non-fatal injuries
 0
Assailant Terry Lee Loewen
Motive Extremist Islamic beliefs

A 58-year-old avionics technician, identified as Terry Lee Loewen, was arrested on December 13, 2013, for attempting a suicide bombing at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, where he was reportedly employed.[1] Loewen became radicalized after reading extremist Islamic material on the Internet.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Loewen also goes by Terry L. Lane.[9]

Loewen was arrested in December 2013 when he tried to enter the grounds of the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport for the purpose of exploding a bomb. (The airport was recently renamed the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport).[10] In his plea, Loewen admitted he came to the attention of the FBI late in May 2013 when he became a Facebook friend of a person who was posting comments advocating violent jihad. In October 2013, Loewen met with a second undercover FBI employee who Loewen believed was a “brother” and would help him blow up a plane. Loewen said that he had scouted the airport to determine a time and place for an attack that would be sure to kill as many people as possible.

Loewen's primary influences were apparently the now-defunct Revolution Muslim website and the late Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.[9][1] Revolution Muslim has been associated with a number of U.S.-born extremists.[11] Loewen also claimed he was attempting to support al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.[9] Three other American citizens have attempted to join AQAP in 2013.[9]

The FBI claims that Loewen "was well on his way to becoming a violent terrorist" when they provided him with fake explosives.[12] Loewen pleaded guilty on June 8, 2015.[1] On September 1, 2015, he was sentenced to 20 years in Federal prison.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Kansas Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Explode Car Bomb at Airport". FBI. June 8, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Man Arrested in Wichita Airport Bomb Plot". The Wall Street Journal (Wichita, Kansas). Associated Press. December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  3. ↑ Williams, Pete (December 13, 2013). "Feds say they disrupted suicide bomb plot by worker at Wichita airport". NBC News. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Kansas Airport Terror Plot Busted, Authorities Say". Huffington News (Wichita, Kansas). December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  5. ↑ Gilliam, Carey (December 13, 2013). Allen, Vicki; Baum, Bernadette, eds. "Man arrested for plotting to blow up Kansas airport". Reuters. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ Potter, Tim (December 13, 2013). "Wichita man arrested planned suicide bombing at Wichita airport". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  7. ↑ "National security charges tied to bomb plot at Wichita airport". The Topeka Capital-Journal. December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  8. ↑ McLaughlin, Eliott (December 13, 2013). "Local man planned suicide attack at Wichita, Kansas, airport, feds say". CNN. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Terry Lee Loewen Planned Airport Bombing For Al Qaeda". Access ADL. ADL.
  10. ↑ "Kansas Man Sentenced in Plot to Explode Car Bomb at Wichita Mid-continent Airport". InfoZine Wichita. September 3, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Revolution Muslim Leader Who Threatened Jews Pleads Guilty". Access ADL. ADL.
  12. ↑ Roxana Hegeman (2 March 2015). "Feds: Man in Wichita airport bomb plot ‘well on his way’ to becoming terrorist". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "Kansas Man Sentenced in Plot to Explode Car Bomb at Wichita Mid-continent Airport". InfoZine Wichita. September 3, 2015.
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