Terrorism suspect charged with behind-bars bid to kill FBI agent

A teenager facing terrorism charges for allegedly trying to bomb a Chicago bar is now accused of seeking to have an undercover FBI agent killed while behind bars.

Adel Daoud, 19, faces multiple charges, including solicitation of murder or attempted murder for allegedly trying to kill the agent, who the US attorney’s office in Chicago says played a role in a sting that led to the suspect’s initial arrest in 2012.

Daoud has been in custody since then for allegedly trying to ignite what he thought was a car bomb outside the bar; the device was fake and part of the sting. He has pleaded not guilty to charges in the bombing case.

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As part of the alleged terror plot, prosecutors say Daoud was introduced to an undercover FBI agent posing as a terrorist in New York. After Daoud’s arrest, he learned the person was an FBI agent, and at that point allegedly sought his murder.

But Daoud’s lawyer, Thomas Durkin, said “the government was pursuing the allegations of a notoriously unreliable street gang jailhouse informant”. He added: “These fantastic new charges only further support our previous public position that the trial evidence will show that Adel Daoud is an immature, impressionable and manipulable teenager – not the international terrorist the government seems hell-bent on trying to paint.”

Daoud already faces up to life in prison if convicted of the terrorism charges filed last year. A conviction on the solicitation count carries a maximum 20-year prison term.

According to prosecutors, Daoud solicited someone “to use physical force to murder or attempt to murder the undercover agent”. Another charge of obstruction alleges Daoud attempted to kill the agent – identified only as “Individual A” – to prevent the person from giving evidence.

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Daoud’s case has garnered attention in recent months as his defence asked the government to provide details on how it might have used expanded surveillance programmes as revealed recently by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.

In a one-sentence notice posted on Wednesday, US District Judge Sharon Coleman denied Daoud’s request that she order prosecutors to disclose details on any expanded surveillance.

Prosecutors argued they did not intend to use evidence derived directly from expanded surveillance at Daoud’s trial and therefore do not have to divulge it.

The defence said it was critical for them to know if the enhanced surveillance led to the investigation.

If so, they say they may challenge subsequent evidence on grounds that the government violated constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.

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