FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A man who followed an authorized vehicle into a restricted area at CIA headquarters in Fairfax County triggered a security lockdown and bomb squad response after officers spotted a suspicious box with wires and tubing inside his SUV, according to federal court documents.
Mohamed Nureni Abubakar was arrested following the Sunday incident and faces a federal misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession.
He remained in federal custody Friday, with a preliminary and detention hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Alexandria.
Abubakar told CIA police he drove 12 hours from Kentucky to speak with someone at the agency about employment, according to an affidavit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The incident began around 1 a.m. Sunday, when officers monitoring the CIA's Visitor Control Center saw a black Buick Envision SUV follow another vehicle through a security barrier after the first driver scanned valid credentials.
The SUV entered the parking lot without authorization and drove across marked parking spaces before trying to pass the authorized vehicle, according to the affidavit.
Officers approached the SUV, which stopped abruptly. The driver exited without being asked and left his door open.
Police ordered him to kneel for safety reasons. He initially hesitated but eventually complied, according to the affidavit.
While officers detained Abubakar, they noticed a large box in the SUV's back seat with white tubing and wires extending toward the rear of the vehicle.
Concerned the box could contain an improvised explosive device, officers established a security perimeter, repositioned police vehicles for cover and locked down the area while bomb technicians responded.
Officers also searched Abubakar for a possible remote detonation device, finding a cellphone, wireless earbuds and a lighter, according to the affidavit.
Abubakar described the suspicious box as a scanner.
The affidavit states that officers eventually cleared the scene of potential explosives. It does not describe the box's contents in greater detail or identify any explosive materials.
CIA Police Officer Miguel Lugo, who submitted the affidavit, said he smelled marijuana while handcuffing Abubakar and later noticed signs that led him to suspect possible drug impairment.
After resolving the explosives concern, Lugo attempted to conduct field sobriety tests. Abubakar failed the first test and then refused to continue, becoming increasingly agitated, according to the filing.
Officers subsequently searched the SUV before towing it and discovered rolling papers near the gear shift and a plastic bag containing a green leafy substance in the driver's door.
The substance tested positive for marijuana, according to court records.
Abubakar was charged under a federal law prohibiting unauthorized possession of controlled substances. Although Virginia permits certain adult marijuana possession under state law, marijuana possession remains prohibited under federal law in circumstances covered by the complaint.
A criminal records check revealed that Abubakar had previous convictions in Kentucky.
According to the affidavit, he was convicted of marijuana possession and second-degree wanton endangerment stemming from charges filed in December 2025.
He was also convicted of third-degree terroristic threatening on March 3 and sentenced to 365 days in jail, with 355 days suspended.
He was on unsupervised release when the CIA headquarters incident occurred, according to the filing.
The SUV's license plate was registered to a business consistent with a rental car company.
Abubakar made his first court appearance on Tuesday, when prosecutors asked the court to keep him detained.
The defense postponed a preliminary and detention hearing originally scheduled for Thursday at the defense's request, without objection from prosecutors.
Abubakar remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending the rescheduled hearing at 2 p.m. on Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick.
He is represented by a federal public defender.
The court documents do not indicate that Abubakar has been charged with possessing explosives, attempting an attack or espionage. The only offense listed in the federal criminal complaint is marijuana possession.
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