He tried to be friendly with Nelash Das, telling the young man that he, too, was Muslim, by Das’s account. As weeks went by, they spent more and more time together, going to the shooting range, sharing meals and celebrating the holy holiday of Eid.
Eventually, federal officials say, they also plotted to kill a member of the U.S. military.
But when law enforcement intervened in suburban Washington Sept. 30 on the day of the planned attack, Das was arrested and held on charges of supporting terrorism while the man who had befriended him went free.
The purported Iraqi from the gun range, according to Das and federal court papers, was a paid confidential source working for the FBI.
Das told The Washington Post he believes he was unfairly set up and badgered into a scheme by the U.S. government. In a phone call Wednesday, Das said the informant manipulated his emotions, showed him videos sympathetic to the Islamic State and hounded him into taking part in a supposed terrorist plot targeting the military. – READ MORE
