Some further details have been revealed about the “third man” in the foiled jihadi plot to attack the Mohammed Art Exhibit in Garland, Texas, Decarus Thomas, aka Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem. Breitbart Texas reported on Kareem’s indictment yesterday. At his court hearing, the FBI related the claims of a confidential informant that Kareem was planning to attack the Super Bowl.
During Kareem’s court appearance on Tuesday, FBI Special Agent Dina McCarthy testified he “expressed interest in joining Islamic State and desired to strike on Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona,” according to the New York Daily News.
“The FBI agent didn’t go into specifics about how close Kareem really got to executing any plots on the country’s largest sporting event, but prosecutors hope to use her testimony to build the case against Kareem,” the NYDN adds.
Prosecutor Kristen Brook is quoted describing Kareem as “an individual who is apt to incite violence” and “off-the-charts dangerous.” The 43-year-old is charged with conspiracy, making false statements to law enforcement, and the interstate transportation of firearms with intent to commit a felony. Garland shooters Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi are said to have discussed their attack plans in Kareem’s home on several occasions.
NBC News affiliate KPNX reports that Kareem, a convert to Islam, “attended the same north Phoenix mosque as Soofi and Simpson, though mosque president Usama Shami said Abdul Kareem had been there infrequently.” Prosecutor Brook said Kareem became interested in conducting jihad attacks on American soil after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris – another notable instance of gunmen seeking to enforce sharia speech codes with deadly violence.
KPNX reports another connection between Kareem and the Garland shooters: “A person described as a confidential witness told investigators that three of the weapons used in the Garland attack had been used by Abdul Kareem at shooting practice in the Phoenix desert with Simpson and Soofi.”
Another possible connection stems from a search of Kareem’s home in 2012, which Special Agent McCarthy said turned up “several electronic documents linked to terrorism, including the Al Qaeda magazine ‘Inspire,’ material from the Global Islamic Media Front, and a video on ‘Training That Makes Killing Civilians Acceptable’ that was on a flash drive.” It has been suggested Simpson might have been rooming with Kareem at the time, and these alarming materials actually belonged to him, although Kareem evidently took possession of the flash drive containing the jihadi documents after investigators were finished examining it.
Kareem’s legal defense seems initially focused on discrediting the FBI’s confidential informant, described by lawyer Daniel Maynard as “your typical jailhouse snitch” who faces “several unrelated charges, including domestic violence and sex trafficking, and was paid $500 by the FBI,” according to KPNX News.
Kareem’s brother, James Newman, who identified himself as a Christian, felt the prosecution might have mis-identified Kareem or confused him with someone else. “I just think with everything going on today, they’re just trying to materialize something that’s not there. He will have his day in court,” he said, implying a certain round-up-the-usual-suspects mentality behind the case against his brother.
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