FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Hasher Jallal Taheb, of Forsyth County faces a sentence of 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted destruction of government property by fire or explosive. The 23-year-old was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court. Taheb admitted, earlier this year, to planning an attack on the White House.
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Taheb was arrested in 2018 and 2019 in Gwinnett County after the culmination of an undercover investigation revealed hand-drawn diagrams of the West Wing in the White House. A federal affidavit at the time suggested that Taheb plotted attacks on other Washington landmarks including the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. He also intended to travel overseas at the time and that his attacks were part of his desire to "engage in 'jihad'."
FBI special agents ultimately arrested Taheb on Jan. 16, 2019 after he arrived at a pre-arranged location where he expected to obtain the weapons needed for the attacks. He pleaded guilty to the charge of attempting to destroy, by fire or an explosive, a building owned by or leased to the United States. As part of a plea agreement, the defendant and the government both agreed to 15 years in prison, though his official sentencing did not occur until last week.
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