Authorities: Man had weapons to carry out threats he made on Facebook

Before he planned to leave his home near Glen Ellyn for his native Pakistan, FBI agents say, Mohammad W. Khan made one last threat.

“I'm not leaving America without getting revenge, ” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Khan, 33, had the airline ticket, the weapons and the intent to carry out the death threats he posted on Facebook, according to a criminal complaint filed in May in federal court.

“What made these rather pointed and escalating threats even more disturbing was the fact that the defendant actually had guns and other weapons, which he proudly displayed on his Facebook,” Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole wrote in a decision filed Tuesday denying Khan bond while he is held in federal custody.

In a May 14 raid, authorities seized a semiautomatic handgun and shotgun, six loaded magazines, a knife and a skull mask from his bedroom, according to the complaint. Authorities said they also found a curved, 24-inch blade in his basement.

Neighbors on Tuesday said Khan and his family kept a low profile in a sleepy neighborhood northwest of North Avenue and Glen Ellyn Road.

Bob Zenker, a resident in the unincorporated subdivision for three decades, said the Khan family lived in the home on the 2N500 block of Pleasant Avenue for less than a year.

Shortly before investigators searched the home, DuPage County Sheriff's deputies stopped Khan while he was driving a Toyota Corolla and he told them he had a firearm in the car. They recovered a loaded pistol, according to the 10-page complaint.

Khan was arrested on a weapons charge, and later that night accused of hitting a deputy sergeant in the county jail with a closed fist.

Khan, now charged with unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated battery of a peace officer, is due back in DuPage County court Aug. 5.

A detention hearing in the federal case was held Monday after an FBI investigation into the alleged threats on Facebook.

Starting in May, Khan, a driver for the ride-sharing service Uber, began to announce more concrete plans and named targets, the federal complaint states.

“If I see a high value target Ima exploit it,” Khan is accused of writing in a May 7 post. “I'm not killin sum bum on the street. I want a high net worth individual to shoot. I want this to be a real human tragedy. Much mourned.”

Then, on May 13, he focused on Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and “uppity aldermen,” according to the complaint.

“You shall be taught a lesson you will not forget! Rabid dogs!” the complaint said Khan wrote.

The most recent threatening post came early May 14 amid law enforcement surveillance and was later removed from his Facebook page, according to court records. Investigators also confirmed that Khan purchased an airline ticket from Chicago to Karachi, Pakistan, scheduled to leave on June 8 and return July 20.

“The gun is cocked and ready to go,” Khan allegedly wrote.

Khan's attorney, Ellen Domph, has argued that while his posts may be offensive they don't pose a “real threat” and compared them to rap lyrics, the judge wrote in his order denying bond. Domph did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.

In ordering him held in U.S. Marshals' custody, Cole wrote that Khan had no appropriate custodian, with his father working 12 hours a day. The father, Cole wrote, told a pretrial services officer he believes his son needs mental health treatment and suffers from hallucinations.