The FBI says it did not find links to extremism during its past investigation of suspected New York and New Jersey bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami.
“In August 2014, the FBI initiated an assessment of Ahmad Rahami based on comments made by his father after a domestic dispute that were subsequently reported to authorities,” a spokesperson told The Hill Tuesday.
{mosads}“The FBI conducted internal database reviews, interagency checks, and multiple interviews, none of which revealed ties to terrorism.”
Reports emerged earlier Tuesday taht Rahami’s father told New Jersey police his son was a terrorist over two years ago.
Ahmad Khan Rahami was accused of stabbing his brother during the fracas, ultimately spending over three months in jail over related charges.
New Jersey police then relayed Mohammad Rahami’s claims to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Newark.
Officers responded by opening an assessment, the most basic FBI investigation
Mohammad Rahami eventually recanted the allegations against his son during subsequent interviews with FBI agents.
An official familiar with the probe told The New York Times Tuesday Mohammad Rahami made the claims out of anger at his son.
A manhunt for Ahmad Khan Rahami ended Monday after homemade bombs exploded in New York and New Jersey over the weekend.
The first explosive detonated along a charity race route Saturday in Seaside Park, N.J. A second blast later that evening hit New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, injuring 29.
A third device was found near Chelsea, and multiple bombs were later discovered in a backpack in Elizabeth, N.J.
Ahmad Khan Rahami was taken into custody and is now facing five charges of attempted murder following a shootout with police in Linden, N.J.
One officer was shot in the vest during the confrontation, while another was wounded in the hand.
Last weekend’s attacks have sparked fears of future homegrown terrorism or plots orchestrated from overseas.
Mohammad Rahami told reporters Tuesday his son is not a terrorist.
“No,” he said outside his family’s restaurant in Elizabeth when asked if his son had engaged in extremism, according to The New York Times. “And the FBI, they know that.”