Federal authorities arrested two men Sunday after an alleged attempt to plant and ignite an incendiary device beneath a news media vehicle, an incident that triggered evacuations and drew the FBI into an already tense region still reeling from the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
According to court documents, Adeeb Nasir, 58, and his son, Adil Justice Ahme Nasir, 31, were taken into custody following a raid on their Magna residence. Investigators allege the pair placed the device under a news van parked near an occupied building late Friday and attempted to light it. The device failed to detonate, but its proximity to a media-affiliated vehicle raised the specter of a deliberate act of intimidation.
Fox 13 wrote that two men have been arrested after allegedly leaving an incendiary device underneath a FOX 13 News vehicle and then forcing an evacuation of a Magna neighborhood when the FBI served an overnight warrant on their home.
The men, Adeeb Nasir, 58, and Adil Justice Ahmed Nasir, 31, were booked into jail and face multiple charges, including Threat of Terrorism, Possessing Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Possessing Explosive Devices.
The men were located at the home, and during the search, told investigators that “two hoax weapons of mass destruction” that officials discovered were “real,” the arrest report stated.
Because of the devices, the home was evacuated, as well as nearby homes in the neighborhood.
The FBI assumed control of the case after confirming the device was genuine. Agents described the placement as a serious public safety threat and moved quickly to trace it back to the Nasir home.
Charges filed against Adeeb Nasir include two counts of weapon of mass destruction and two counts of threat of terrorism. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail and is being held without bail. Information on Adil Nasir’s charges has not yet been released.
The arrests unfold against the backdrop of heightened security in northern Utah. Just four days earlier, Kirk was gunned down at a nearby college campus, a killing that has sparked national debate and intensified scrutiny on potential political violence coming from the left. Investigators have not disclosed whether Friday’s attempted bombing was connected to that event, but officials confirmed the FBI is continuing to probe the motive behind the alleged plot.
[Read More: Alleged Assassin Motivations Revealed?]
Terrorisim alone here since FNC honors Kirk etc