Abdul Rahman Alharbi, once a person of interest in the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings, attended the White House for a Fourth of July celebration for military heroes and their families, The Blaze first reported and a law enforcement official later confirmed.
Photos of Mr. Alharbi attending the event were posted from a Twitter account that reportedly belongs to his father.
“We attended the celebration with my son Abd Al-Rahman and my son Issa,” a translated version of one of the father’s tweets read.
According to The Blaze, a recent post from the account links to a July 6 report from the Arab daily newspaper Al-Hayat, that reads: “Today [Saturday] the Al-Hayat newspaper published a news item stating that Abd Al-Rahman and his family had been invited by the White House to participate in America’s Independence Day celebrations.”
A White House pool report indicated that it was an invitation-only event: “The President and First Lady [celebrated] the 4th by hosting ’military heroes and their families’ along with administration staff and families at a White House barbecue and concert on the South Lawn.”
The Blaze warned that the father’s Twitter account could be a fake, but later reported that a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation into the Boston Marathon Bombing confirmed that the person in the photo is indeed Mr. Alharbi.
SEE ALSO: Napolitano: Saudi student briefly put on watch list
The Saudi national was named a “person of interest” in the Boston bombings, was put on a terror watch list and was reportedly set for deportation in April on “security and related grounds.”
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano denied the rumors of deportation when she was confronted by Rep. Jeff Duncan at a press conference on April 18.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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