Man accused in plot to bomb Wrigleyville
A Chicago man has been charged with plotting to blow up a high-powered explosive outside a Wrigleyville bar early Sunday morning as crowds let out from a Wrigley Field concert.
Sami Samir Hassoun, 22, of the 4700 block of North Kedzie, was arrested immediately after placing what he believed to be a live explosive into a garbage can near the corner of West Eddy and Clark streets near Wrigley Field, according to the FBI. The supposed explosive was given to Hassoun in Rosemont by an undercover FBI agent who Hassoun believed was working with him to carry out the attack, the FBI said.
Hassoun, a Lebanese citizen who has been living in Chicago for about three years, had considered a number of plots before deciding on the Wrigleyville explosion, including a biological attack on the city, poisoning Lake Michigan, attacking police officers, bombing Willis Tower and assassinating the mayor, according to the FBI.
He has been charged with one count each of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted use of an explosive device, both felonies.
Hassoun eventually decided an explosion in front of Sluggers World Class Sports Bar on Clark Street would be the first step in his plan to force Mayor Daley to resign from embarrassment.
At a brief hearing Monday, Hassoun quietly told U.S. Judge Susan Cox that he understood the charges. Hassoun's federally appointed public defender Dan McLaughlin, declined to comment on the case, as did several family members who attended the hearing.
"He wanted to transform the city of Chicago. He wanted to make a statement and he wanted to replace the mayor of Chicago," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Grant. "He was unhappy with the way the city was running. He was also unhappy with things that were happening in other parts of world."
The FBI said Hassoun acted alone and there is no indication that any foreign or domestic terror groups were connected to the plot.
Hassoun began expressing his desire to commit acts of violence in the city for both monetary gain and to "cause political transformation in Chicago" with an associate who was an FBI informant starting in June of this year, but the agency had been monitoring Hassoun for close to a year.
During this time, the associate was secretly working with the FBI during their investigation of the threats, the agency said.
Hassoun originally wanted to set off a series of nonexplosive devices in high-profile areas of the city that would smoke and cause panic in the city, according to the complaint.
But his plans became more grand, as he believed bigger acts would command public attention and embarrass the mayor, according to the complaint.
"Little by little, I'm building it up," he said, according to the complaint. "I will shake Chicago."
The "associate" introduced Hassoun to an undercover agent in July who would be able to help Hassoun obtain an explosive.
The agent told Hassoun that he was from California and that he had access to explosives and the expertise necessary to construct a device that Hassoun could use to carry out his plot.
Two undercover agents met with Hassoun in a Rosemont hotel room at 11:18 p.m. Saturday and provided him a backpack, which he thought contained a high-powered explosive, according to the FBI. The agent showed Hassoun the components of the device, which was designed to look real.
Hassoun and the two agent then left for the Wrigleyville location in a rented vehicle while under surveillance of the FBI. He was arrested immediately after putting the explosive, which he thought was on a 20-minute timer, into the trash can.
While en route to the location the night of the attempted attack, Hassoun discussed with the two undercover agents that the area would be especially crowded that night because the Dave Matthews Band was playing at Wrigley Field.
During the planning stages of the attempted attack, Hassoun told an FBI informant that he wanted to paralyze commerce in the city, according to the complaint against him. When asked who he intended to carry out the suggested attacks, he told the informant, "You park the car and let it go 'boom,'" the complaint says.
Earlier in the summer while planning the attack he bragged to the undercover agent that he could create a bomb "more powerful than that used in Oklahoma City," according to the complaint.
Hassoun has been held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago since his arrest early Sunday morning.
"At no time was the public in danger during this investigation." The FBI said. "Hassoun was under intermittent surveillance as the plot developed and the undercover agents were in regular contact with Hassoun, monitoring his activities."
If convicted, Hassoun faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years to a maximum of life in prison.
• Daily Herald news services contributed to this report
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<li><a href="/pdf/hassoun.pdf">Criminal complaint document </a></li>
<li><a href="http://chicago.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel10/cg092010.htm" target="new">FBI press release</a></li>
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