The NEFA Foundation has released the 23rd report in the "Target: America" series, a PowerPoint presentation examining the September 23rd, 2009, attempt by Michael C. Finton (a.k.a. Talib Islam) to trigger a bomb packed in a van that he had parked outside of the Paul Findley Federal Building in Springfield, Illinois.
Finton, a prison convert to Islam, had been closely monitored by the Springfield JTTF for almost two years prior to the terror attack attempt. He had come to the JTTF's attention when he violated parole approximately a year after he had been released from a seven-year prison term for aggravated assault and battery.
Parole officers notified the JTTF about Finton after becoming concerned at Finton's overt admiration of "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh. Finton had openly expressed his desire to travel overseas for jihad training. Once it appeared that Finton intended to put his words into action, the JTTF first introduced a confidential informant, and then an undercover operative, in order to control Finton's activities, through to the point of the attempted attack on the federal building.
Although it does not appear as though Finton would have been capable of pulling off a major terrorist attack on his own, this case supports the view that even those who have not received training, or who have not had direct interaction with jihadis, can hold a deep enough level of dedication to follow through with a major attack. It also shows that even untrained radicalized individuals are able to apply some basic operational tactics to a plan based on examples from successful terrorist attacks that have taken place overseas, and examples featured on videos of attacks that are circulated on the Internet by Al Qaida and other terrorist groups.
Note: Due to the dynamic nature of these reports, updates will be provided when available.
The NEFA Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt, charitable organization created after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Foundation strives to help prevent future tragedies in the U.S. and abroad by exposing those responsible for planning, funding, and executing terrorist activities, with a particular emphasis on Islamic militant organizations.
