Agents arrested 23-year-old Samy Mohamed Hamsez on Monday, after he bought machine guns and silencers from undercover FBI employees. Federal authorities say someone tipped them off in September that Hamzeh had planned to travel to Israel to attack Israeli soldiers and citizens living in the West Bank but later opted to plan a domestic attack at the Masonic temple in downtown Milwaukee.
According to the criminal complaint, the Milwaukee man engaged in extensive conversations with two confidential sources, conversations which were monitored and recorded. On Jan. 19 Hamzeh toured the Masonic temple to learn of its schedule, and he was recorded saying later that he would attack it, in the name of "defending Muslim religion."
Hamzeh is charged with the unlawful possession of machine guns and a silencer.
Among the quotes the federal complaint says he made:
"I am telling you, if this hit is executed, it will be known all over the world. . . . Sure, all over the world, all the Mujahedeen will be talking and they will be proud of us. . . such operations will increase in America, when they hear about it. The people will be scared and the operations will increase, and there will be problems all over, because more than one problem took place, and this will be the third problem, this will lead to people clashing with each other. This way we will be igniting it. I mean we are marching at the front of the war.”