What may be most surprising about the two homegrown terrorists from New Jersey, Carlos Almonte and Mohamed Alessa, is that their families reportedly were working closely and secretly with the FBI and other counter-terrorism agencies.
Apparently the fathers of both men had been been alarmed by their growing radicalization and concerned about the jihadist videos they watched showing the slaughter of American soldiers.
Monday morning’s Star Ledger said it was a tip about these videos that started the investigation. Alessa, 20, was born in Jersey City of Palestinian descent and lived in a North Bergen duplex for more than a decade.
Almonte, 24, of Elmwood Park was born in the Dominican Republic and moved with his family to the U.S. as a child. Family members were said to be bewildered by his interest in Islam and his alleged desire to kill American soldiers, to wage jihad in Africa.
His father reportedly told the Daily News, “I feel really bad. My wife’s over there crying.”
When asked if he thought his son was guilty… Pedro Almonte replied: “I don’t want to think about that. He’s my son.”
Terrorism experts said the increasing number of homegrown terrorists like Faisal Shazad of Connecticut… the suspect in last month’s attempted bombing of Times Square… and Najibullah Zazi of Flushing… means we all must be on the lookout for any suspicious activities:
“All of us become a part of the police force. All of us become a part of the intelligence assets that we have. We have to pay attention because if we don’t, the few who wear a badge won’t be enough to protect us,” said Micah Halpern, terrorism expert.
(Source: WCBSTV)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
About time parents accepted their children aren’t “Tzadikkim.” This applies in all areas & admittedly, this is an extreme situation.
I applaud these fathers for the terrible decision they had to make. That takes guts.