Harlem Suarez Convicted in Key West Backpack Bomb Plot

A Monroe County man was convicted today after a federal jury found him guilty of plotting to detonate a nail-laced backpack bomb on a crowded Key West beach to support ISIS. Harlem Suarez, a/k/a “Almlak Benitez,” 23, was convicted of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization following a trial in the Southern District of Florida.

Suarez planned to remotely detonate an explosive device concealed in a backpack, packed with galvanized nails to maximize carnage, at a popular public beach. According to evidence presented, in April 2015, he began posting extremist content on Facebook promoting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization. He later told an FBI confidential human source he wanted to build a “timer bomb” and began purchasing components to do so.

“By intending to place an explosive device on a public beach, Harlem Suarez posed a grave threat to the residents and visitors of Key West,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer. “It is because of the Joint Terrorism Task Force’s unwavering commitment to our national security that law enforcement is able to prevent potential attacks on American soil that are inspired or directed by terrorist organizations.”

Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord called the case a victory in the fight against homegrown terrorism. “Harlem Suarez, a self-professed ISIL adherent, attempted to use a weapon of mass destruction – a backpack bomb – in the United States and now stands convicted of two terrorism offenses,” McCord said. “Stopping attacks on our homeland by those inspired or directed by designated foreign terrorist organizations is the highest priority of the National Security Division.”

FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro emphasized the collaborative effort that stopped Suarez. “Suarez wanted to kill innocent people by detonating a nail laced explosive filled backpack on a crowded Key West beach,” Piro said. “He was denied his terroristic dreams by several hardworking, dedicated law enforcement organizations and professionals. This is a job well done.”

Suarez is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Jose E. Martinez in Key West on April 18, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. The case was investigated by the FBI, JTTF, ATF, ICE-HSI, Key West Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc S. Anton and Karen E. Gilbert with support from the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section. Court documents are available via the Southern District of Florida’s public docket.