Conspiracy by six Muslim men to attack US military personal at Fort Dix, New Jersey, US
A foiled 2007 FBI sting operation exposed a plot by six men to attack U.S. military personnel at Fort Dix, raising debate over entrapment tactics.
Key Facts
- Date of arrests
- May 8, 2007
- Number of suspects
- 6
- Verdict date
- December 22, 2008
- Guilty verdicts
- 5 of 6 found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder
- Life sentences handed down
- 4
- Remaining sentence
- 1 received 33 years; 1 received 5 years for weapons offenses
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Six radical Muslim men allegedly conspired to attack U.S. military personnel at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The FBI became aware of the plot and deployed two paid foreign informants, both undocumented with criminal records, to infiltrate and monitor the group over an extended period.
On May 8, 2007, FBI agents arrested all six suspects. They were prosecuted in federal court beginning October 2008. In December 2008, five were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder against U.S. military personnel, while the sixth was convicted on lesser weapons charges for his minor role in the plot.
Four of the convicted men received life sentences, one received 33 years, and one received five years. The case became controversial due to entrapment allegations, with a key FBI informant later stating some defendants were innocent. The five main defendants became known collectively as the Fort Dix Five.