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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