Federal authorities say 21-year-old Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis wanted to die as a martyr for Jihad against America. They say he came to here on a student visa in January to attend southeast Missouri State University, where he was to study cyber security. But he reportedly relocated to New York after just one semester.
According to a law enforcement source, the FBI became aware of Nafis in a Jihad chat room. He claimed to have contacts in al Qaida, and wanted to attack a target in New York.
Working with undercover agents, Nafis assembled what he thought was a 1,000 pound bomb inside a van, which he drove to the Federal Reserve building in Manhattan. He was arrested immediately after trying to detonate the bomb with a cell phone.
Nafis is facing charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and providing support to al Qaida. He could face life in prison.
Wearing a brown T-shirt and black jeans, Nafis did not enter a plea during a brief court appearance Wednesday afternoon in Brooklyn. His defense attorney had no comment outside court.
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