FBI: Mohamud Thought 9/11 Was "Awesome"
In addition to discussing the plot, the agents directed Mohamud to purchase what they said would be components of the bomb. He spent roughly $110 of FBI money at a Radio Shack. Mohamud was also given $2,700 to rent an apartment to assist in his escape from the US after the bombing. The agents also arranged for Mohamud to engage in a dry run on detonation of the bomb. They took him to a remote location and told him to dial a cell phone number. Explosive experts staged an explosion to give Mohamud the feeling that he could actually detonate the car bomb. Agents carried the plot all the way to streets of Portland with a fake bomb in a van, parked at a location selected by Mohamud.
The FBI Successfully Thwarts Its Own Terrorist Plot
The FBI is obviously quite pleased with itself over its arrest of a 19-year-old Somali-American, Mohamed Osman Mohamud, who — with months of encouragement, support and money from the FBI’s own undercover agents — allegedly attempted to detonate a bomb at a crowded Christmas event in Portland, Oregon. Media accounts are almost uniformly trumpeting this event exactly as the FBI describes it.