[Washington Examiner] While the nation's attention on drones, Iran and ICE raids, a story from my hometown of Pittsburgh deserved more attention than it got. That story vindicates warnings other members of Congress and I gave in 2015 when President Obama announced a plan to admit thousands of refugees from war-torn Syria, even though national security officials admitted there were gaps in our vetting capabilities. The story also vindicates one of President Trump’s first actions upon taking office.Last week, the FBI arrested 21-year-old Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, a Syrian who entered the United States as a refugee in August 2016. Alowemer is charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and with distributing information about explosives to someone he knew intended to use the information to commit a crime of violence.
Alowemer allegedly planned to bomb a Christian church in Pittsburgh that had Nigerian immigrants among its worshipers. His intent was to avenge his ISIS "brothers" killed in Nigeria. He also planned a second bomb, timed to hit police responding to the attack and "lock down the whole [sic] Pittsburgh."