Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested two New York men for what they allege was a plot to create a mobile X-ray machine that could silently kill people, a federal spokesman said.
Glendon Scott Crawford, 49, and Eric J. Feight, 54, were arrested earlier this week on conspiracy to provide material support for use of a weapon of mass destruction, the criminal complaint stated, CNN reported.
Albany FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force agents rooted out the suspects, following a lengthy undercover surveillance operation.
The two were creating a device that was “intended to be mobile … [and] designed to turn on remotely from some distance away [to emit] some dangerous levels of X-ray radiation,” said John Duncan, executive assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, in the CNN report. Those hit with the X-ray wouldn’t immediately feel it. It would take “some days” for them to discover they were injured — or several days for them to die, CNN reported.
Their main targets, the Department of Justice said: “Enemies of Israel” and others deemed “undesirable,” CNN reported.
FBI agents said Mr. Crawford described himself as a member of the Ku Klux Klan and that he “harbors animosity toward individuals and groups that he perceives as hostile to the interests of the United States,” calling them “medical waste,” CNN reported.
The two suspects could face 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, CNN said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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