STUNNING – AT  1:52 P.M. ET:  We just had a close call on terror.  Fortunately, the plot seems to have been stopped.  From Fox: 

A man who pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda sought to kill members of the military and conducted reconnaissance in downtown Cleveland for a planned attack on July 4 -- but the Independence Day plot was foiled after a months-long investigation, federal officials said Monday.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen Anthony said Demetrius Pitts, also known as Abdur Raheem Rahfeeq, was arrested at 10 a.m. Sunday by the joint terrorism task force. Authorities were initially notified about Pitts in 2017, when he lived in Cincinnati and allegedly made statements supporting Al Qaeda and advocating violence against U.S. military members.

"This case illustrated that law enforcement can not sit back and wait for Mr. Pitts to commit a violent act," Anthony said.

Authorities said Pitts made Facebook posts with "disturbing" messages, saying "We as Muslims need to start training like this every day. We need to know how to shoot guns, throw grenades, hand to hand combat," Anthony said during a news conference.

After moving to Cleveland, authorities said Pitts continued to express his "radical ideology." During a meeting last week with an undercover FBI agent, Anthony said Pitts noted "their holiday is coming up."

"What would hit them at their core? Blow up in the, have a bomb blow up in the 4th of July parade,"  he said.

In the last week, Pitts then went downtown to conduct reconnaissance at Voinovich Bicentennial Park and the Coast Guard station, among other locations, according to officials. He also continued to voice hatred for the military, saying he wanted to "chop off heads and hands."

COMMENT:  If this were the Obama administration they'd probably describe him as a misunderstood patriot who secretly wants to be George Washington, or at least Elvis.

No, he's a dangerous guy, and we are warned once again that terrorism is an ongoing threat requiring eternal vigilance.  We got this one.  What about the next one?

July 2, 2018