Tel-Chai Nation

Politico reports that Michael Finton, the Islamic convert who also calls himself Talib Islam, was planning to target a Republican Congressman (H/T: Jihad Watch and Atlas Shrugs):

Rep. Aaron Schock's (R-Ill.) office in Illinois state capital of Springfield was one of the targets of a planned terrorist attack, his office said Friday.

Michael C. Finton, known as Talib Islam, was arrested Wednesday after trying to detonate a van he believed was stuffed with explosives near the Paul Findley Federal Building in Springfield. Finton had been collaborating on the attack with an undercover FBI agent and is being charged with attempting to murder federal officers or employees and trying to detonate a weapon of mass destruction, according to the Associated Press.

"My office was notified today of the attempted terrorist attack on both the Federal Building and my Congressional Office in Springfield," Schock said in a statement. "I am incredibly grateful to the FBI for their fine work in preventing this terrorist attack."

Schock's office was a secondary target, according to an Associated Press report.

Finton, 29, converted to Islam in prison and said famed American Taliban operative John Walker Lindh was his hero. Finton also expressed a desire to fight Israelis in the Gaza Strip and received military training in Afghanistan. He was under federal supervision for months.

If Schock is Jewish, it's possible that Finton was plotting to target him based on his racial background, as well as his political standings. Thank goodness Finton was arrested before anything horrific could occur.

Labels: anti-semitism, islam, jihad, terrorism, United States, war on terror