A foiled terrorist truck-bomb plot had planned to target Oprah Winfrey's Chicago-based studio and the Sears Tower in 2009, according to a report by the watchdog group Judicial Watch.
Based out of El Paso, Texas, the alleged bomb plotters included an illegal alien, an individual who was arrested while waving an Islamic State flag from his car, and two of the FBI's most wanted terrorists, among others, according to the report.
"The alleged bombers targeted Ms. Winfrey's Harpo Studios because they resented her popularity and power, while the tower was selected because of its obvious landmark status," according to JW.
While illegal alien Hector Pedroza Huerta, currently under federal custody and charged with "reentry of a deported alien" for the third time in five years, was arrested for driving while intoxicated, another suspect, Emad Karakah, was caught after he engaged the police on high-speed chase while an Islamic State flag was waving from his vehicle.
The other two conspirators include two of the FBI's most wanted terrorists, Jaber A. Elbaneh and Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah, who are currently at large, according to sources who spoke to JW on condition of anonymity, Breitbart reported.
"The plot called for the use of a U-Haul-style trailer, as well as a delivery-style 'step van,' that was purchased at auction in El Paso, Texas," the report stated. "Sources say the bombs were constructed with the plastic explosive C-4 and Tannerite, a binary explosive of ammonium nitrate and aluminum designed for detonation by means of a high-velocity firearms cartridge."
"Officials believe the C-4 explosives were obtained from Fort Bliss, the sprawling U.S. Army base in El Paso, and the Tannerite was brought into the United States from Mexico. Federal law enforcement officials and Illinois police reportedly interdicted the bombers before they arrived in Chicago, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation."
Apart from Oprah's studio, the alleged bomb plot had also planned to target the iconic "Sears Tower," now known as the Willis Tower.
"The bomb plot itself, planned in 2009, was inspired by militant Islamist hatred of American military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq," the watchdog group adds. "Sources requested anonymity for fear of reprisal by terrorist bomb-plotter associates, as well as retaliation from embarrassed federal law enforcement."
Meanwhile, the FBI and the Department of Justice declined to respond to numerous requests for comment by JW on the foiled bomb plot.
The same JW report also cites a Nov. 5 case where "a 27-year-old Florida man, Sami Osmakac, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison after being convicted of taking part in a foiled bomb plot that targeted a popular Tampa bar and a hotel-casino."
"During Osmakac's trial, federal prosecutors presented evidence that in 2012 Osmakac, a U.S. citizen born in Kosovo, arranged to buy weapons such as a car bomb, machine gun and grenades to target crowded locations in Tampa," the watchdog group adds.
"While the FBI elected to publicize and take credit for the two, foiled Chicago and Tampa bomb plots, the Bureau has never released information on the 2009 targeting of Oprah, or explained why it has allowed conspirators to languish in county jails on lesser charges."
