CLEVELAND — A Maple Heights man has pleaded guilty for plotting a July 4 terror attack in downtown Cleveland last year.
Demetrius Nathaniel Pitts, who also goes by the names Abdur Raheem Rafeeq and Salah ad-Deen Osama Waleed, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, threats against the President of the United States and threats against family members of the President of the United States.
Pitts, 50, was arrested July 1, 2018 after undercover investigators determined he had plans to carry out an attack.
Pitts met with an undercover agent June 22 in Walton Hills, where they discussed launching an attack for al-Qaeda during July 4 in Cleveland. After learning that fireworks would be launched from Voinovich Park, Pitts said, “Oh there you go. Oh yeah.”
The meeting concluded with Pitts telling the agent he would travel to downtown Cleveland that week to take photos and video of Voinovich Park and the U.S. Coast Guard Station.
A few days later, Pitts told the undercover agent he wanted to “destroy the government.” He and the undercover agent visited downtown Cleveland June 27, where he pointed out several potential targets, including the federal building, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and St. John’s Cathedral. He also discussed buying a vehicle to pack with a bomb.
On July 1, before he was arrested, Pitts met with the undercover agent in Garfield Heights to discuss logistics for the July 4 attack. Pitts suggested they give remote control cars filled with explosives to the children of military personnel to play with at Cleveland's July 4 parade. His idea was that children would take the cars home and unwittingly blow up their own homes.
Pitts also revealed his future plans to execute an attack in Philadelphia. Those plans included a truck bomb packed with explosives, similar to the one used by Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Pitts' phone contained videos in which he pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. He also discussed the idea of traveling to San Francisco for al-Qaeda.
Authorities say Pitts also made threats against President Donald Trump by saying he was going to “get” President Trump by cutting off his head and hands. He also made threats to kidnap and kill members of President Trump's family.
An affidavit says Pitts had expressed anti-American sentiments and a desire to recruit people to kill Americans from 2015-17.
Pitts is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 11, 2020. Under the terms of his guilty plea, he is likely to be sentenced to 14 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.