1 Arrested In Fort Dix Plot Case Didn't Want To Kill But Remains A Danger, Feds Say

Wednesday, May 16th 2007, 6:07 pm

By: News On 6

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) _ One of the six men charged last week in a suspected plot to attack soldiers at Fort Dix told the others how to make bombs and gave them weapons, authorities said in a legal filing Wednesday.

But according to the brief, Agron Abdullahu also told investigators after he was arrested on May 7 that Islam says it is wrong to kill civilians and that he thought it would be ``crazy'' to attack a military base.

During the investigation, authorities said, he told an FBI informant that he did not intend to kill anyone but wanted to learn about bomb making ``just in case somebody pushes me to the limits.''

The filing by the U.S. attorney's office offers insight into why Abdullahu was not charged with conspiring to kill military personnel, as were the five other men. But government lawyers hope the brief bolsters their argument for keeping him detained without bail. He is charged with helping illegal immigrants obtain weapons.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday in U.S. District Court in Camden. Abdullahu's lawyer, Lisa Evans Lewis, has argued that a judge should set bail. The prosecution opposes that motion, saying that Abdullahu would be likely to flee and be a danger to the community if he was let out of federal custody.

A government brief placed the 24-year-old at two retreats in the Pocono Mountains in northeastern Pennsylvania for shooting practice.

In one conversation there in February, he was recorded telling the others about bomb making. He was also in a room full of men who laughed at a video that showed a U.S. Marine getting his arm blown off, according to the papers.

Investigators said he told one of the other suspects that the plotters should think about their children and family. The other suspect responded that Allah would provide for them.

The other five men could be sentenced to life in prison if they are convicted of conspiring to kill military personnel.

A judge last week ruled those five should all be held without bail.