New Details Emerge In Federal Charges Filed Against Ahmad Rahami for Bomb Attacks

Ahmad Khan Rahami, the man believed to be behind the bombing attacks in New York and New Jersey over the weekend, has been charged in federal court, including a charge for use of weapons of mass destruction.

The criminal complaint filed late Tuesday afternoon charges Rahami with four counts related to the attacks. In addition to the weapons of mass destruction charge, Rahami is charged with bombing a place of public use, destruction of property by means of fire or explosive, and use of a destructive device during and in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Rahami is also charged in federal court in New Jersey with a separate five count complaint. Most of the complaint is identical to the one filed in New York. The major difference is that in New Jersey, Rahami faces two counts of using a weapon of mass destruction - in relation to Seaside and the train station in Elizabeth.

The court filing quotes from the diary that was found with Rahami when he was taken into custody, details his movements, and outlines how he purchased materials for the bombs.

It also describes a video of Rahami igniting what sounds like a pipe bomb two days before the attacks.

The quotes from the diary — which was found with a bullet hole that's believed to have resulted from Rahami's shootout with Linden police officers on Monday — show a man with apparently strong positive feelings about Al Qaeda figures.

According to the court filing, the diary contains:

• "Laudatory references to: Anwar al-Awlaki; Nidal Hasan, who shot and killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas; and 'Brother Osama Bin Laden.'
• "A reference, on a page that is largely unintelligible, to 'pipe bombs' and a 'pressure cooker bomb,' and the partial sentence: 'in the streets they plan to run a mile.'
• "An expression of concern at the prospect of being caught before being able to carry out a suicide attack: 'the F.B.I. & homeland security [unintelligible] looking for me [unintelligble] my heart I pray to the beautiful wise ALLAH. To not take JIHAD away from. I beh [unintelliglbe] for sahadat [martyrdom] & Inshallah [God willing} this call will be A [n]swered.'

The handwritten document closes, "Inshallah [God willing] the sounds of the bombs will be heard in the streets. Gun shots to your police. Death To Your OPPRESSION."

The filing describes an FBI agent watching a video shot by a family member on a cell phone that shows Rahami igniting incendiary material in a cylindrical container.

The video was shot two days before the attacks in New York and New Jersey.

The court document, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, is also filled with more facts about the day of the bombing, including:

• The dumpster on 23rd street weighed 100 pounds and flew more than 120 feet through the air.
• 12 fingerprints were recovered from the device on 23rd Street - all 12 matched Rahami.
• A car traced to Rahami was tracked going through the Lincoln Tunnel on the day of the attacks.
• Two of the cell phones had been purchased last year - one in February and one in May.
• The SUV that was stopped on Sunday night by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge contained five people including members of Rahami's family.
• Rahami purchased several of the bomb components on eBay using the name "Ahmad Rahimi."
• Only one of the three devices in Seaside actually detonated.
• Rahami was also caught on video at both locations in Manhattan.

Photo credit: Union County Prosecutor's Office