FBI: Man scouted Cleveland locations for July 4 bomb attack

An American-born citizen who federal authorities say recently scouted locations in Cleveland to attack people watching Fourth of July fireworks and talked of carrying out additional bombings has been charged with trying to support terrorism.

This Sunday, July 1, 2018, photo provided by the North Olmsted Police Department in North Olmsted, Ohio, shows Demetrius Pitts, of Maple Heights, Ohio, who was charged with trying to support terrorism. Federal authorities say Pitts talked often about his support for al-Qaida and recently scouted locations in Cleveland to attack people watching Fourth of July fireworks. (North Olmsted Police Department via AP)

Federal authorities said Monday that Demetrius Pitts had expressed his support for al-Qaida for more than a year and talked about setting off bombs at a July 4 parade and later in his hometown, Philadelphia.

Pitts, who lived most recently in Maple Heights, Ohio, was due in federal court on Monday in Cleveland. There were no court documents listing an attorney for him, and he couldn't be reached for comment.

Pitts was arrested Sunday after meeting an undercover agent and was charged with attempted support of a terrorist organization.

FBI agent Stephen Anthony said it was unclear how close Pitts was to carrying out his threats, but he said authorities couldn't sit back and wait to find out.

"We don't have the luxury of hoping an individual decides not to harm someone or get others to act," he said.

Anthony said that Pitts, 48, had been radicalized in the U.S. but he had no information that Pitts had traveled out of the country.

Authorities first began watching Pitts in 2017, when he lived in the Cincinnati area, after he made Facebook posts threatening violence against the U.S., Anthony said. Pitts moved to Cleveland in May.

Pitts began meeting with an undercover agent and discussed several ways to carry out an attack, according to court documents. Pitts also talked about his hatred for the U.S. military, Anthony said.

An undercover agent in late June gave Pitts a bus pass and a cellphone that he thought were from al-Qaida supporters so that he could go downtown and look for locations to carry out his attacks, according to a complaint filed by authorities.

Pitts shot videos of potential targets such as a federal building and a U.S. Coast Guard station and then turned over the phone last week, believing the photos and videos would be given to al-Qaida members, the document said.

In recent weeks, Pitts also talked about wanting to travel to Philadelphia, and on Sunday he told the undercover agent he wanted to conduct reconnaissance for an attack using a truck packed with explosives, similar to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, authorities said in the complaint.

Pitts told the agent that Philadelphia would be the "big target" and that the attack "will be done" on Labor Day, according to an affidavit. Pitts also pointed to possible targets, including Philadelphia's City Hall and a federal building, the court document said.

In Washington, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that "President Trump commends the work of the DOJ and the FBI in helping stop this would-be attacker."

The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to pay approximately $100 million to settle claims with about 100 people who say they were sexually assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The deal has not been finalized, and no money has been paid, the source said on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak before a formal announcement.

An internal investigation found that FBI agents mishandled abuse allegations by women more than a year before Nassar was arrested in 2016.

The settlement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.

Nassar was a Michigan State University sports doctor as well as a doctor at Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics. He is serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts, under the guise of treatment.

Lawyers filed claims against the government, focusing on a 15-month period when FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles had knowledge of allegations against Nassar but apparently took no action, beginning in 2015. The Justice Department inspector general confirmed fundamental errors.

Nassar’s assaults continued until his arrest in fall 2016, authorities said.

The assault survivors include decorated Olympians Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.

“I’m sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told survivors at a Senate hearing in 2021. “And I’m especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed.”

The Michigan attorney general’s office ultimately handled the assault charges against Nassar, while federal prosecutors in western Michigan filed a child sex abuse images case against him.

Michigan State University, which was also accused of missing chances over many years to stop Nassar, agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women and girls who were assaulted. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee made a $380 million settlement.

FILE - Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, center left, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., attend a news conference with dozens of women and girls who were sexually abused by Larry Nassar, a former doctor for Michigan State University athletics and USA Gymnastics, July 24, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to pay approximately $100 million to settle claims with about 100 sexual assault victims of Nassar, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)