BUSTED

FBI Sting Foils Oregon Bomb Plot

At Portland tree-lighting ceremony.

The FBI successfully thwarted a terrorist bombing in Portland, Oregon after following the suspect for over a year. The would-be terrorist, 19-year-old Somali immigrant Mohamed Mohamud, parked a van loaded with an explosive device near a tree-lighting ceremony in downtown Portland. But the FBI had replaced his bomb with a dummy and arrested Mohamud as he tried to detonate it with a cell phone. "This defendant's chilling determination is a stark reminder that there are people—even here in Oregon—who are determined to kill Americans," Oregon’s U.S. attorney said. Mohamud is due to appear in court Monday and faces a life sentence, along with a $250,000 fine. An undercover FBI agent gave Mohamud a fake bomb as part of a sting operation that began in June 2010. FBI and police officials say that at no point was anyone in danger, but court documents reveal that Mohamud was eager to see everyone leave the ceremony "dead or injured."