Two men allegedly planted a bomb underneath a news van in Utah Friday and tried to ignite it, sparking a massive evacuation and federal probe.
Adeeb Nasir, 58, and Adil Justice Ahme Nasir, 31, were each arrested Sunday when authorities turned up at their front door in Magna, Utah — less than an hour away from the college where famed conservative pundit Charlie Kirk was assassinated last Wednesday.
The pair is accused of hiding an incendiary device found underneath a news media vehicle parked next to an occupied building. The explosive had been lit but apparently malfunctioned, police said.
The FBI assumed jurisdiction over the investigation as soon as the incendiary device was confirmed to be real, given its worrying placement under a media-affiliated vehicle in such a public setting.
In less than two days, federal authorities traced the threat back to the Nasirs.
Squad members parsed through their residence after obtaining a federal search warrant and uncovered more hoax weapons of mass destruction inside, along with illegal drugs and two firearms, which Adeeb and Adil weren’t permitted to own as restricted persons with known narcotics use, according to arrest documents.
When authorities pressed about the weapons they’d recovered, the suspects asserted that they were real, prompting a speedy evacuation of the neighborhood and all law enforcement authorities on site while they worked to properly dispose of the devices. However, the items were determined to be fake.
Adeeb faces a laundry list of charges, including two counts of weapon of mass destruction and two counts of threat of terrorism. He booked into Salt Lake County Jail and was ordered to be held without bail, according to arrest documents.
Adil hasn’t been charged yet.
It’s unclear the pair’s exact relation, but the two men lived in the same home.
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