Jose Pimentel, the 27-year-old Manhattan resident accused of plotting to bomb police and post offices in New York City and U.S. troops returning home, has been denied bail, USA Today is reporting. He was arraigned on November 20, 2011, the day after city officials announced his arrest and said he was in the act of making pipe bombs.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg described Pimentel as an al-Qaeda sympathizer. He resented the presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, and believed in jihad. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly added that police were quick to arrest Pimentel because he was ready to carry out his plan.
Pimentel has been under investigation since 2009 because of comments he made about violence to others. Bloomberg said he “was a so-called lone wolf…he was not part of a larger conspiracy emanating from abroad.” Kelly said Pimentel was inspired by, and a follower of, Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born al-Qaeda leader who operated out of Yemen, who was killed in September 2011 by a U.S. drone attack.
After talking about targeting U.S. service members and a police station in nearby New Jersey, Pimentel began purchasing ingredients for pipe bombs at a Home Depot and other stores. He was charged with conspiring to build a bomb for terrorist purposes and possession of a pipe bomb.
Written by: Karen Benardello
