An ISIS member has been arrested in connection with an alleged plan to murder former President George W. Bush.
“An Iraqi citizen living in Columbus, Ohio, has been charged federally with an immigration offense as well as aiding and abetting a plan to assassinate former US President George W. Bush,” the Justice Department said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the suspect, Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab, 52, entered the United States on a guest visa in September 2020 and requested asylum in March 2021, which is currently being reviewed.
According to the Department of Justice, Shihab traded money with others in an attempt to unlawfully transport foreign persons into the United States, with a particular intention to help four Iraqi nationals across the southern border to assist in the assassination of Bush.
Shihab started the conspiracy “in vengeance for Iraqi casualties during “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” according to the prosecution complaint.
In a statement, Secret Service spokeswoman Special Agent Steve Kopek said, “The US Secret Service takes all threats to its protectees seriously.” “The Secret Service does not divulge the tools and methods utilized to execute our protective operations or topics of protective intelligence in order to safeguard operational security.”
It’s unknown whether any security measures have been implemented surrounding former President Bush.
“President Bush has complete faith in the United States Secret Service, as well as our law enforcement and intelligence organizations,” stated Freddy Ford, the Office of George W. Bush’s chief of staff.
In an effort to “expose and destroy” the network of “violent extremists,” the US sanctioned ISIS facilitators in Syria and Turkey this week.
