Harlem Suarez, a 23-year old man from Monroe County in Florida, was recently sentenced to life in prison for attempting to use an explosive device classified as a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to the extremist group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
According to court documents Suarez, who goes by the pseudonym Almak Benitez, made a series of Facebook postings promoting the Islamic State and other extremist rhetoric. Suarez also told a confidential FBI informant that he wanted to make a “timer bomb” and that he had already purchased some of the components for the device, such as galvanized nails, a timer, and a backpack in which to conceal the bomb.
Evidence from the trial indicated that Suarez intended to bury the bomb underneath sand at a Key West beach and detonate it remotely.
The sentence announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord, U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District in Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Miami Field Office, and members of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).
The FBI, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations; the Key West Police Department, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office all provided assistance in the investigation.