An Iraqi national has been arrested and has been before a judge after he was arrested for a plot to try to assassinate former President George W. Bush.
Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab, 52 of Columbus Ohio, is being held without bond after his arrest this morning for both immigration charges and a free-wheeling plan to kill former President Bush.
Shihab originally entered the United States in September 2020 on a visitor visa, and in March 2021, he filed a claim for asylum, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Ohio.
The plan to murder the former president was first reported to the FBI by people known as Confidential Source 1 (CS1) and Confidential Source 2 (CS2), who made the agents aware of conversations with Shihab to bring individuals associated with the Islamic State (ISIS) into the United States.
“SHIHAB told CS1 that the four Iraqi nationals SHIHAB wanted to smuggle into the United States are planning to kill former president George W. Bush,” the arrest affidavit reads. “SHIHAB advised CS1 that former president Bush had a house and farm in Texas. SHIHAB twice inquired if CS1 knew what type and amount of security there was protecting former President Bush, as SHIHAB believed CS1 had connections in the Dallas area. SHIHAB asked if CS1 thought that four to six individuals were enough to kill former President Bush. CS1 stated that he/she did not know but believed former president Bush would have security.”
The FBI says Shihab visited Dallas on February 7th, 2022. He was picked up at DFW International Airport by CS1 and went to both Bush’s gated neighborhood in Dallas, and the Bush Institute near the SMU campus. Shihab made videos of both areas, the affidavit says.
In March, the affidavit says CS1 traveled to Columbus, Ohio to show Shihab sample firearms and U.S Border Patrol uniforms. It says Shihab had plans to visit Qatar to meet with the leadership of a group to go over the assassination plans in a face-to-face meeting.
Shihab was arrested by FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force agents on Tuesday morning.
Law enforcement officials say it is not uncommon for threats to be made against public officials. But the detail of this case apparently set off alarms.
“The fact that was sealed court document in this case, puts it in a different category than law enforcement monitoring social media,” said former U.S. Attorney Matthew Orwig, now a criminal defense lawyer. “It’s really an action that’s taken that requires them to establish that there is probable cause.”
Shihab is being held without bond. The immigration charge carries a possible 10-year prison term. The charge of aiding and abetting the attempted murder of a former United States official carries a possible 20-year term.
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