US: Man planning attack near DC 'inspired by Daesh'

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) – A Maryland man was charged Monday for stealing a van, which he allegedly planned to drive into a crowd of pedestrians in a Daesh-inspired attack.

Rondell Henry, 28, of Germantown was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland for stealing a U-Haul van in Alexandria, Virginia, before driving it to Dulles International Airport in the same state.

Henry allegedly claimed to have been inspired by the Daesh terror group, according to a detention memo from the U.S. government.

The memo said Henry tried to enter the airport and breach security. But after failing to do so, he drove to National Harbor, a convention and tourist destination in Maryland just outside of Washington, D.C. There, he broke into a boat to spend the night in hiding.

The following morning, police tracked down the stolen van and the suspect, arresting him.

Henry had planned on conducting an attack similar to the 2016 truck attack in Nice, France, for which Daesh claimed responsibility. That attack killed 86 people, with one third of the victims Muslim, according to The New York Times.

"For two years, Henry has harbored 'hatred' for those who do not practice the Muslim faith," the government memo said, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland.

“We continue to gather evidence as well as review evidence already obtained as part of this ongoing investigation,” U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur said in a statement.

If Henry is convicted, he will face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.