22-year-old Oakland resident Amer Sinan Al Haggagi has been charged with plotting several terrorist attacks in San Francisco that targeted gay bars in the area.
Unearthed audio recordings and texts strongly suggest he aimed to pack several Bay Area clubs and bars with explosives, sell strychnine-laced cocaine, and set numerous brush fires in the Berkeley Hills.
“I live close to San Francisco,” he texted an undercover federal agent that he believed was an Islamic State operative.
“That’s like the gay capitol [sic] of the world. I’m going to handle them right. LOL.
I’m going to place a bomb in a gay club…
I’m going to tear up the city.
The whole Bay Area is going to be up in flames.
My ideas are genius.
LMAO.”
According to authorities, Al Haggagi seeked employment with the Oakland Police Department to steal weapons.
How about we take this to the next level?
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His attorneys claim he was just a swaggering ass. To paraphrase.
“There is a bit of a disconnect between Mr. Al Haggagi’s words and his actions,” says Hanni Fakhoury, who wisely isn’t representing him anymore. “Very stupid and very inappropriate and very disturbing puffery.”
His new lawyer Mary McNamara claims Al Haggagi dropped the subject and several months went by where, like, he wasn’t going around talking about killing hundreds of people.
“Mr. Al Haggagi ran away when he believed that things had gone beyond talk with the undercover agent,” she tells KQED.
She claims he “never re-engaged with him and never took any steps to commit any violent act.”
“He is a peaceful, sociable and well-liked person.”
“He is also young and naïve. It appears that he allowed himself to be drawn into conversations that he should have been far more suspicious of.”
A classic case of blame the undercover federal agent.
h/t: NewNowNext
DCguy
This story is 5 days old, and yet as soon as there is a story showing Trump attacking the lgbt community directly I guess there needed to be a “Muslims are out to get you” story so the Right wing Trump Trolls could try to use it as a deflection from the fact that the GOP has us in the crosshairs?
KaiserVonScheiss
How long before everyone realises that radical Islam, particularly Salafism/Wahabism, is an existential threat to the West, especially to LGBTs?
Of course, I’m sure someone is going to come on here and say ISIS isn’t real Islam. Just like the inquisition wasn’t Catholic.
Or someone will compare radical Islam to Fundi Christians…
Fundi Christians: “I don’t support the gay lifestyle.”
Islamist: “I think gays belong in prison or executed.”
Jihadist: *kills gays*
sydboy007
What’s radical about it? If the majority of adherents to a religion believe that say the best punishment for homosexuality is death, then in reality finding the adherents who don’t want to kill homosexuals are the in fact the radicals. Even “Moderate” Muslims in the UK are still more likely to want to criminalise homosexuality that live and let live.
I’ve never quite understood the gays stand with Islam meme. At least with Christianity those who think you’re going to hell and ain’t 1 of the 14 family members of the westboro baptist church, will stil treat you with courtesy.
The darling of the left Linda Sarsour has not made a peep over a pro-LGBT and feminist Muslim organization that was expelled from tabling at the annual Islamic Society of North America convention earlier this month.
DCguy
This is the distraction of the fake Trump Trolls.
Funny how you guys leave out that it was American Christian groups that funded and supported the groups in Uganda pushing the “Kill the Gays” bill. It’s American Christians that are attacking civil rights here in America.
Sorry bigot, but I’d worry about Islamic clerics if I lived in Saudi Arabia, but trying to pretend that they are more of a danger than radical Christians wanting to legalize anti-gay attacks, anti-lgbt bullying, and outlaw our civil rights is as idiotic as all of your other commentary on here.
Juanjo
Kaiser Von Douchebag is at it again. Apparently in his little mind there is some major existential difference between a Christian in the USA posting videos on Youtube advocating for the death of homosexuals and a Muslim extremist group in another country doing the same. This person in the Bay Area was arrested for shooting off his mouth and we have no idea what, if anything he had actualy done to accomplish any of these goals of his. But that is not really the point. The point is that Islam is no greater or less a threat to world peace or more importantly, to the gay people of the USA, than the fundamentalist Christians who advocate the same same type of hatred and violence.
The fact that at present it is a lot more difficult for those extremists in this country to actually carry out their plans than it is in other countries where the rule of law is weak or non-existant really is not the point.
KaiserVonScheiss
@Juanjo
Is that a joke? You really don’t see radical Islam as a threat? They want to kill us all.
Yes, let’s pretend the Christians are just a bad. In Muslim countries, it’s generally illegal to be gay. Their culture and beliefs are ass-backwards. Is it illegal to be gay in America? No. Sodomy laws were ruled unconstitutional.
The people who want to mandate their religious codes as law are all laughed. Unless, of course, the person doing so is a Muslim. Because Islam gets a free pass.
@DCguy
“It’s American Christians that are attacking civil rights here in America.”
Wonder why they keep losing. Oh…because everyone who isn’t a fundi thinks they’re nuts.
gmale
Kaiser
I am not denying that radical Islam possess a real threat to Islam OR that wahabisim is like white supremacy groups determined to see their world view imposed on society.
The question is how much are they true for all Muslims. no one would see Inquisition as non catholic but would yo use the lynching of blacks was essentially, American? OR the lesser known burning of witches… also an American activity?
AmishHomo
Muslims don’t need to attack San Francisco Gay bars, the Tech industry is doing fine thank you to drive up the cost of living in SF to the point where the Gay community will become history without bombs or violence.
jhon_siders
Your right on that SF was a hippie town too but the high rents have ran them off too !
gmale
homos are not necessarily the same as hippies. many gay men live quite dignified lower middle class lives with a lot of hot sex without posting it in on Instagram.
American gays are obsessed with class.
He BGB
I guess the gay community can live in Daly City or Hayward and commute to the bars eventually after the tech community takes over. The same ishappening in other cities like Atlanta where there is no affordable housing anymore.
gmale
the SF gay community has always been horrid towards people of colour. Asians in the 70s where picketing gay SF bars for racist practises, blacks in the 90s etc and the list goes on. These bars are really white men places rather than for gay folks
ChrisK
Liar. I lived in SF in the 90s and no where were blacks picketing gay bars.
Danny595
There were no such pickets. And most gay people are white because most of America is white. Cry about it!
Danny595
“He is also young and naïve. It appears that he allowed himself to be drawn into conversations that he should have been far more suspicious of.”
Um, I’m the same age as him and no one has ever “drawn me” into a convo about killing hundreds of people and blowing up bars. Pathetic defense lawyers! This btw is the 3rd attack, actual or planned, on gay bars by Islamists. A few years ago, a Libyan tried to burn down a packed club in Seattle. And of course, there was Orlando. As horrible as the rightwing Christians are, they have never once attacked a gay bar. We should probably put the political correctness to one side and wake up.
Cj.
Young, Stupid, Dangerous?
Cj.
Stupid,Crazy, Dangerous!
o.codone
This is where I thank the Christian God that Hillary Clinton is not president. She’d be setting up housing and food banks for the muzzie haters right in downtown SF. Giving them the best real estate and converting Badlands into a mosque. Then she’d turn her back and when all hell broke loose she’d be nowhere to be found and have no response. We’re the ones getting killed. She has lifetime secret service. It’s time to protect ourselves ladies.
SMH at DCGuy. When Orlando happened he made it about gun control, and when this happens he makes it about the pretend threat of christian fundamentalists. Deal with the truth DCGuy, they’re here to get us bro. You first.
DCguy
Oh look, the anti-American Trump Troll with their anti-lgbt word vomit still trying desperately to convince lgbts that right wing Christians are big cuddly kittens not out to get us.
You don’t hate radical islam because you disagree with it. You hate it because it is so similar to right wing Evangelical Christianity and you see it as competition.
They both hate lgbts and right wing Christians in America would set up laws to kill or imprison us if they could.
GayEGO
How stupid! In this day and age one should not be touting these comments and not expect to be arrested as who knows whether or not the person is serious!
darkanser
Truthfully, after learning a little Islamic history AND current events, I’d like someone to explain to me how ANY of these religions are any better than CULTS!!!!! While we may have issues with Christian fundamentalism, it appears to me that Islamic fundamentalism is FAR worse!!!!