- Vicente Solano was arrested on Friday for allegedly planning to bomb the Dolphin Mall in Miami
- He was taken into custody following an FBI counter-terrorism undercover sting
- Solano had thought he was speaking to a radical when he told an FBI informant of his alleged bombing plans
- Authorities said Solano had made pro-ISIS videos but there was no indication he had been directed to carry out the alleged attack by the terrorist group
- Solano had acquired what he thought was a real bomb but undercover agents he had been speaking to gave him a fake device
A man allegedly inspired by ISIS has been arrested over a plot to blow up a busy Miami shopping center.
Vicente Solano was taken into custody on Friday following an FBI counter-terrorism undercover operation, the Miami Herald reports.
Solano had thought he was speaking to a radical when he told an FBI informant of his alleged plans to bomb the Dolphin Mall.
It is not clear when he had planned to allegedly detonate the device.
Vicente Solano was taken into custody on Friday following an FBI counter-terrorism undercover operation that found he had allegedly planned to bomb the Dolphin Mall in Miami
Authorities said Solano had made pro-ISIS videos but there was no indication he had been directed to carry out the alleged attack by the terrorist group.
Solano had acquired what he thought was a real bomb, which he allegedly planned to detonate at the shopping mall.
But the undercover agents he had been speaking to had actually given him a fake device.
Authorities said Solano was acting alone.
Solano is due to face Miami federal court on Monday where authorities will file a criminal complaint and affidavit.
Authorities have not spoken publicly about Solano’s arrest but Sweetwater Police posted a photo on Instagram confirming that they worked with the FBI to protect the public
He will be charged with attempting to detonate a weapon of mass destruction.
Online records show Solano is being held at a Miami federal detention center.
Authorities have not spoken publicly about Solano’s arrest but Sweetwater Police posted a photo on Instagram confirming that they worked with the FBI to protect the public during Friday’s arrest.
The undercover operation of supplying a hoax device to would-be bombers is a strategy that has been applied in other recent investigations.
The FBI arrested a 23-year-old in August for allegedly trying to detonate a bomb in Oklahoma City. Jerry Drake Varnell allegedly tried to trigger what he thought was an ammonium nitrate fertilizer bomb outside a bank. He had been given a fake bomb by an undercover FBI agent who was posing as someone who wanted to help him.