Politics

Honduran TPS Recipient Who Plotted To Bomb A Miami Mall Pleads Guilty To Supporting ISIS

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Honduran national Vicente Adolfo Solano pleaded guilty Wednesday to providing material support to the Islamic State, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Solano is reportedly an illegal immigrant who obtained Temporary Protected Status (TPS), according to the Miami Herald, citing Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Gilbert. He arrived in the U.S. in the 1990s and resided in Miami, where this ISIS sympathizer produced terrorist propaganda videos and “planned to place and detonate an explosive device in a crowded area of a popular Miami mall.”

The man was, according to the FBI, self-radicalized, and in March 2017, he reportedly changed his name to Abad and posted on Facebook: “I am Abad, son of Allah. May our black flag live on and we continue our battle.” Solano apparently later revealed to a confidential human source that he wanted to join ISIS, the Department of Justice said in its press release on his guilty plea.

Solano unknowingly leaked his plans to two undercover FBI agents, who gave him a fake bomb. After taking possession of the explosive device, Solano attempted to arm it (even though it was actually inert), and made his way toward the entrance of the Dolphin Mall, where he was detained by authorities, according to Reuters.

He was charged in October for his deadly plot.

Solano, who faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, previously told a confidential source for the U.S. government that he was angry with America, particularly President Donald Trump and his criticisms of foreign nationals entering the country illegally. It is unclear whether he actually converted to Islam.

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