Feds Accuse Man in Drone Bomb Plot in Connecticut

FBI officials arrested a Moroccan national in Connecticut in an alleged plot to fly bombs on drone-like devices into a school and a federal building.

Authorities say they arrested 26-year-old El Mehdi Semlali Fathi on Monday and found wires and tools in his Bridgeport apartment. The Connecticut Post first reported the arrest.

Fathi hasn't been charged with terrorism, but authorities said that could come later in the investigation.

He's charged with immigration-related crimes for allegedly staying in the U.S. for seven years after his student visa expired after flunking out of Virginia International University.

The FBI said Fathi targeted an out-of-state school and a federal building in Connecticut. The exact locations weren't released.

Fathi came to Connecticut in 2011, after being released from custody in Virginia and his immigration case was transferred to an immigration judge in Hartford.

When a federal criminal investigation in Fathi starting in January 2014, he was living in Bridgeport with someone he met while he was in prison in Virginia, according to the affidavit.

Authorities recorded several of Fathi’s conversations and said he admitted to fabricating claims made in his application for refugee status and laughs because he cannot believe a judge believed him, the affidavit states.  

The court documents go on to state that Fathi spoke at least twice about his bombing plans, including why and how he chose a certain location.

Fathi is detained without bail. His public defender declined to comment Tuesday.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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