Free Republic

Federal agents over the weekend arrested a Pinellas Park man described as having extremist jihadist beliefs who wanted to blow up a target in Tampa and create "terror" in victims' hearts. "I want to do something terrifying," he said, according to a federal complaint, "like one day, one night, something's going to happen. Then six hours later, something else." Sami Osmakac, 25, was taken into custody after an FBI sting operation in which he tried to buy explosives, at least 10 grenades, Uzis and an AK-47, authorities said. Osmakac's intended target shifted over the course of the investigation, which spanned...

Authorities say a 25-year-old described as an Islamic extremist was arrested in a plot to attack sites around Tampa, Florida, after taking possession of disabled guns and bombs The U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrest of Sami Osmakac on Monday. Authorities say Osmakac is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in the former Yugoslavia. He has been charged with one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. His first appearance in federal court is scheduled for Monday afternoon. Federal officials say a confidential source told them that Osmakac wanted Al Qaeda flags. The federal complaint...

Sami Osmakac toyed with the idea of blowing up Tampa Bay bridges or the sheriff’s office. The defense is arguing that Sami suffers from mental illness. The Tampa Tribune reportedL Sami Osmakac toyed with the idea of blowing up the bridges crossing Tampa Bay or detonating bombs at the sheriff’s office and police departments before settling on a plan to plant explosives in Tampa’s Hyde Park party district and then spraying first responders with automatic gunfire, according to recently released court documents. The planned January 2012 attack, Osmakac said in a “martyrdom video,” would be “payback for Sheikh Osama Bin...

As news of a terrorist plot by a radical Islamist in Tampa emerged Monday, the propaganda machine that is the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) launched into action, repeating its mantra of accusations against the FBI and offering excuses for the plotter. It's a common pattern for an organization that positions itself between the public, government, and terrorist suspects, trying to control dialogue about Islamist terrorism suspects and cynically manipulating its own relationship with the government. Local media played into CAIR's plan, with the Tampa and St. Petersburg daily newspapers and television affiliates turning to the group for reaction, despite...

A Kosovo-born man was charged with plotting to attack Tampa-area nightclubs and a sheriff’s office with bombs and an assault rifle to avenge wrongs done to Muslims, federal authorities said Monday. According to a federal complaint, 25-year-old Sami Osmakac recorded an eight-minute video shortly before his arrest explaining why he wanted to bring terror to his “victims’ hearts” in the Tampa Bay area. Osmakac is a naturalized American citizen born in Kosovo, then part of the former Yugoslavia in eastern Europe. In the video, Osmakac is seen cross-legged on the floor with a pistol in his hand and an AK-47...