FBI thwarts July Fourth bomb plot in Cleveland

Federal authorities arrested a Cleveland man accused of a bomb plot against a Fourth of July parade. Officials said Monday that Demetrius Pitts, an American citizen, often expressed his support for al-Qaeda and said he wanted to kill members of the U.S. military. Pitts is charged with attempted support of a terrorist organization. An affidavit filed in the case said Pitt became radicalized and expressed anti-American sentiment between 2015 and 2017, Cleveland.com reported. FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen Anthony said at a news conference that Pitts had the desire and intent to conduct the attack. “Law enforcement cannot sit back and wait for Mr. Pitts to commit a violent attack,” Anthony said. “We don’t have the luxury of hoping an individual decides not to harm someone or get others to act, especially when his continued, repeated intentions were to do exactly that.”