Photo: Getty Images
The FBI have caught an ISIS conspirator in Ohio who was planning to assassinate former President George W. Bush, according to NBC News.
Shihab Ahmed Shihab, an Iraqi citizen, legally entered the United States and settled in Columbus. While applying for asylum, he tried to marry a woman with citizen status in order to obtain his immigration status. The FBI began investigating Shihab for immigration or visa fraud, initially — but what they found led them to a more in-depth investigation.
According to a search warrant, Shihab told an FBI informant that he was planning to smuggle people through the Mexican border to murder Bush. Agents began conducting in-person surveillance, tapping and tracing phone calls and having undercover informants talk with Shihab to uncover more information.
Shihab told one of these sources that he wanted to smuggle four Iraqi nationals into the United States. Two of those people included ex-intelligence agents for the country and another was the secretary for an ISIS financial minister. After that, they'd work to acquire guns as well as a sliding-door van to assassinate the former president.
The plan went as far as Shihab staking out Bush's home in Dallas, Texas, on February 8, taking videos of the gate in front of the house.
The FBI have since taken Shihab into custody. The agency is reportedly considering charges including “interstate communications, threats against former presidents, visa fraud, and material support to ISIS.”