Guilty Plea in Planned Recruiting Center Bombing
Antonio Martinez has pled guilty to attempting to blow up a Baltimore military recruiting center in 2010. The FBI went as far as to provide Martinez a fake bomb which he tried to detonate. He had originally pled not guilty, but reversed his plea and faces a 25-year sentence.
Though only vaguely referenced in the Associated Press article on the plea, Martinez was reportedly motivated by his “extremist” Islamic views. He was one of 12 attempted or planned attacks on the US military in recent years by those apparently motivated by their Islamic faith:
- Fort Hood attack thwarted (PFC Abdo, 2011)
- Shots fired at Pentagon, other military bldgs (Marine Reservist Yonathan Melaku, 2010)
- Fort Hood massacre kills 14 (Army Maj Hasan, 2009)
- Fragging in Kuwait by Army Sgt Hasan Akbar (2003) (death sentence on appeal)
And:
- Pipe bomb attack thwarted (Jose Pimentel, 2011)
- Remote control airplane Pentagon attack thwarted (Rezwan Ferdaus, 2011)
- Seattle recruiting station attack thwarted (2011)
- Frankfurt airport attack kills 2 US Airmen (Arid Uka, 2011)
- Baltimore recruiting center bomb thwarted (Antonio Martinez, 2010, 25-year sentence)
- Quantico attack by Raleigh jihadists thwarted (6 multi-decade prison sentences, 2009)
- Arkansas recruiting station attack by Abdulhakim Muhammad (2009, life without parole)
- Fort Dix attack thwarted (2007) (6 convictions, 4 life sentences)
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