WACO, Texas — Coolly defiant, Pfc. Naser Abdo shouted “Nidal Hasan, Fort Hood 2009!” as he was led out of the courtroom Friday, an apparent homage to the suspect in the worst mass shooting on a U.S. military installation. He condemned the attack less than a year ago but is now accused of trying to repeat it.
Investigators say Abdo, who cited his Muslim beliefs in requesting conscientious-objector status last year, was found in a motel room 3 miles from Fort Hood’s main gate with a handgun, an article titled “Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom” and the ingredients for an explosive device — including gunpowder, shrapnel and pressure cookers. An article with that title appears in an al-Qaeda magazine.
Abdo went absent without leave from Fort Campbell, Ky., this month after being charged with possessing child pornography.
Police and the Army say Abdo admitted plotting an attack. In Fuhais, Jordan, his father insisted the allegations were “all lies, from A to Z.”
“My son loved people no matter who they are, whether Jews or Christians,” Jamal Abdo said. “Naser is not the kind of a person who harbors evil for the other people. He cannot kill anyone, and he could not have done any bad thing.”
Jamal Abdo, 52, lived near Fort Hood in Killeen for 25 years until he was deported from the U.S. last year after being convicted of soliciting a minor.
His 21-year-old son was ordered held without bail Friday. He is charged with possession of an unregistered destructive device in connection with a bomb plot and has yet to enter a plea. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
It was not immediately known whether he would face additional charges.
In court, Abdo refused to stand when the judge entered — U.S. marshals then yanked him up from his seat — but he answered the judge’s questions politely.
On his way out, he yelled “Iraq 2006!” and the name of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who was raped that year before she and her family were killed.
Five current or former U.S. soldiers went to prison, one for a life term, for their roles in that attack.
