Man arrested in plot to blow up Federal Reserve bank in New York

October 18, 2012 - 10:40 am | Category: National

A 21-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday in connection to a plot to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to law enforcement officials.

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, who’s from Bangladesh in the U.S. on a student visa, was arrested as part of a sting operation staged by the FBI and NYPD as part of the Joint Terrorism Task Force. It’s alleged that Nafis had what he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb inside of a van that he an undercover agent parked in front of the New York Federal Reserve Bank. The pair went to a nearby hotel, where Nafis allegedly recorded a video statement designed to be shared with the press, in which he said, “We will not stop until we attain victory or martyrdom,” according to the criminal complaint. He then tried to detonate the bomb, which had inactive explosives. At that point, he was arrested. At least part of the sting operation was captured on video.