Despite guilty plea, Aurora man claims attack plot was ‘bravado’
Jonas Edmonds claims it was just “bold talk” and “bravado” made to an undercover federal employee about planning an attack on an Illinois National Guard base in Joliet.
An Aurora man caught on tape planning an attack on an Illinois National Guard base in Joliet claims his comments were fueled by marijuana and a need to prove he was “a sincere Muslim.”
Jonas Edmonds claims it was just “bold talk” and “bravado” made to an undercover federal employee who “challenged something in” Edmonds. He insists he would have never gone through with it. Andhe said his “long, bushy beard” would have made it impossible to disguise himself as a member of the Guard in order to attack the base.
Those claims are made in a memo filed this week by Edmonds’ attorney, James Graham, asking U.S. Dis- trict Judge John Lee to go along with a deal Edmonds struck with the government. Edmonds pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and lying to the feds about international terrorism. As part of the deal, Edmonds is likely to land a 21-year prison sentence.
His sentencing is set for Jan. 27.
“Jonas Edmonds has been extremely upset about the number of the civilian casualties caused by the United State [sic] military on Muslim populations in other parts of the world,” Graham wrote. “He has also been affected by the violence perpetrated by ISIS on others, as he has observed on various Internet sites. Jonas Edmonds has been seen by various family members in tears after observing some of the violence he has watched over the Internet.”
A criminal complaint against Edmonds and his cousin, Hasan, suggests undercover federal employees kept close tabs on the pair as they formed their terrorist plot. Jonas Edmonds dropped his cousin off at Midway Airport in March to catch a flight to Egypt to join the Islamic State, and then he returned to his cousin’s home to collect the uniforms Hasan Edmonds once wore as a member of the Illinois National Guard.
Jonas Edmonds planned to disguise himself in the uniform and attack the Guard base in Joliet where Hasan Edmonds had trained. He had hoped to kill as many as 120 soldiers, prosecutors have said.
Authorities nabbed them both, arresting Hasan Edmonds before he could catch his flight, and Jonas Edmonds lied about the purpose of his cousin’s trip. Hasan Edmonds also pleaded guilty last month.
Graham wrote in his memo this week that Jonas Edmonds believed “the person who had the most knowledge about the base” — Hasan Edmonds — “was on a plane leaving the United States.” He said Jonas Edmonds didn’t gather any weapons, nor did he set a date for the attack.
“Jonas Edmonds would reiterate that what was said on the recorded conversations was him spouting off,” Graham wrote, “and though everyone recognizes how serious this matter is, he wants the court to know that he would never have followed through with any attack on the National Guard installation.”