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An American Airlines mechanic accused of sabotaging a plane in July reportedly has ties to ISIS and told arresting agents he had an “evil side,” according to reporting from Fox News.
Prosecutors presented evidence in a Miami courtroom Thursday alleging that Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani showed support for ISIS by making statements about wishing Allah would use “divine powers” to harm non-Muslims and sharing ISIS videos on his cellphone, which he allowed the FBI to search.
Alani, 60, worked as a mechanic for American Airlines when he allegedly sabotaged a Nassau-bound Boeing 737 with 150 passengers and crew aboard at Miami International Airport over stalled labor negotiations.
Prosecutors said Alani glued styrofoam inside the nose of the aircraft that disabled a part used to gauge airspeed and other critical flight data. Pilots detected the issue before takeoff, and a subsequent inspection discovered the problem.
Airport surveillance captured Alani, who walks with a limp, working on the plane’s nose for about seven minutes. He was identified by co-workers.
After his arrest earlier this month, he told agents he acted “out of my evil side” and “wanted to do something to delay” the plane “to get overtime” for maintenance repairs, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Medetis told the judge Wednesday.
WIBC host Tony Katz commented on the story Friday morning:
“The President and Vice President were wrong when they stated that ‘ISIS is defeated.’ ISIS is not defeated. They are engaged in manipulation. They are engaged in indoctrinating people, the dark web is still where they exist and focus. We’ve seen them – even on the ground – to have a level of regrouping. The argument that saying they’re defeated is intended to demoralize them is not true. You know how you demoralize ISIS? You kill them.”
Click below to hear more from Tony.
