Man arrested in plot to attack NY Fed

A man has been arrested for plotting to attack the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Wednesday.

The lone man was arrested in lower Manhattan following an undercover sting operation conducted by the FBI and New York Police Department.

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ashan Nafis, a 21-year-old Bangladeshi national, was charged Wednesday after he attempted to detonate inoperable explosives provided to him by an undercover FBI agent, according to the Justice Department.

{mosads}Nafis traveled to the U.S. in January with the alleged intent of carrying out a terrorist attack, and claimed he had overseas connections to al Qaeda, according to the criminal complaint filed in a New York Court. He also actively sought out al Qaeda contacts to assist in the attack, and eventually got in touch with an FBI source, who helped set off the sting operation.

After considering attacks on a “high-ranking U.S. official” and the New York Stock Exchange, the suspect settled on the New York Fed in Manhattan’s Financial District. On Wednesday, he attempted to detonate a 1,000-pound bomb outside the bank, although the FBI emphasized that the public was never at risk.

Nafis was arrested after he attempted to detonate the bomb with a cellphone. He also recorded a video message to be released after the attack, in which he vowed, “We will not stop until we attain victory or martyrdom.”

“The defendant thought he was striking a blow to the American economy. He thought he was directing confederates and fellow believers. At every turn, he was wrong, and his extensive efforts to strike at the heart of the nation’s financial system were foiled by effective law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch.

The suspect is currently in custody, and is facing charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda.

The arrest follows a similar sting operation that resulted in an arrest in Washington. In February, Amine El Khalifi, a 29-year-old Moroccan man, was arrested after he attempted to carry out what he thought was a suicide bombing of the U.S. Capitol. However, he too received purported explosive materials from undercover federal agents. El Khalifi was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and 10 years of supervised release, in September.