Mohamud also submitted an article to Inspire, an extremist magazine published by the media arm of the Al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen. Samir Khan, a Pakistani-American, allegedly ran Jihad Recollections from his parents' home in Charlotte, N.C. He moved to Yemen last year and now is believed to edit Inspire.
Mohamud told "Abdulhadi" that he "initially wanted to wage war in the U.S." The FBI agent told Mohamud he could not tell him what to do, but suggested several options, including going "operational" or becoming a shaheed, or martyr. Mohamud said he wanted to build a car bomb, but would need help.
At Oregon State, about 80 miles south of Portland, Mohamud had a benign profile. "He wasn't the most social person, but he wasn't anti-social," said Omar Mohamed, president of the Muslim Student Assn. "He seemed like a pretty normal guy."
Mohamud also was not known for being particularly pious. "From what I understand, he wasn't the most religious person," Mohamed said. "He didn't regularly go to mosque."
And unlike some Muslim students, he was known to attend college parties where alcohol was served, though it was unclear whether Mohamud actually drank.
On Aug. 19, Mohamud and "Abdulhadi" met again — in a bugged hotel room — and "Abdulhadi" brought another undercover FBI agent, who claimed to be an expert in explosives. Mohamud told them that he had begun thinking of jihad when he was 15.
The FBI affidavit then goes on to say how he described his plan to bomb the Nov. 26 event.
"They have a Christmas lighting and some 25,000 people that come," he said. They should "be attacked in their own element with their families celebrating the holidays," he added, quoting Osama bin Laden.
He said he had scouted where Black Friday shoppers streaming from nearby stores would likely gather in the busy outdoor square. The tree lighting was scheduled for 5:30 p.m., "so I was thinking that would be the perfect time."
The trio met again Sept. 7. This time, the undercover agents asked Mohamud to buy the bomb components. They gave him $2,700 in cash to rent an apartment where they could all hide, and $110 to cover the cost of the bomb parts.
Over the next few weeks, the affidavit says, Mohamud mailed them a Utiliteck programmable timer, two Nokia cellphones, stereo phone jacks, a toggle switch and other gear, mostly from Radio Shack. One package also had a pack of gum and a scrawled note: "Good Luck with ur stereo system Sweetie. Enjoy the Gum."
They held more meetings in early October in Corvallis, and Mohamud gave them a computer thumb drive with Google street-view photographs of his preferred parking spot, the attack site and escape routes. And he enthused again about his plan.
"It's going to be a fireworks show… a spectacular show… New York Times will give it two thumbs up."
According to the university, Mohamud stopped attending the school that month.
On Nov. 4, Mohamud and the two agents drove to a remote location near the coast west of Corvallis, supposedly to test the homemade bomb design. In reality, federal agents remotely detonated a device.
On the way home, he recalled the Sept. 11 attacks. "Do you remember when 9/11 happened, when those people were jumping from skyscrapers? … I thought that was awesome." He said he hoped people attending the tree lighting would "leave either dead or injured."
That afternoon, the undercover agents helped Mohamud record a video statement. Explaining that he wanted to dress "Sheik Osama style," he donned a white robe and camouflage jacket. He then read a lengthy testimonial to jihad on camera. According to an FBI transcript of the statement, Mohamud, who was born in Mogadishu, briefly mentions his parents and suggests they had tried to steer him on another path in life. Arabic phrases are set off in brackets:
"To my parents, who held me back from jihad in the cause of Allah. I say to them [by Allah] if you — if you make allies with the enemy, then Allah's power [the glorified and exalted] will ask you about that on the day of judgment, and nothing you can do can hold me back."
In a follow-up meeting, their seventh, he gave the FBI agents hard hats, safety glasses, and reflective vests and gloves. He said they would wear the gear before the attack as a disguise, and put traffic markers around the parked van.
Abdulhadi, the first FBI agent, picked up Mohamud at about noon Friday, and they went to inspect the bomb. Built by FBI technicians, it appeared impressive. But the explosives, the detonation cord and the blasting caps all were inert.
"Beautiful," Mohamud said.
At 4:45 p.m., they drove the van to Yamhill and Sixth Street and parked. Police had secretly kept the space open. Mohamud attached the blasting cap and flipped the toggle switch to arm the bomb, then put on his hard hat.
