Arrest in plot to bomb Pride parade

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An Arizona teenager is behind bars after authorities say he was plotting an ISIS-inspired attack using an explosive remote-controlled drone on the Phoenix Pride parade.

Marvin Aneer Jalo, 17, of Peoria, was arrested on Oct. 18, the first day of a series of events celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride in Phoenix, culminating with the annual parade on Sunday, Oct. 20.

Jalo is being charged as an adult with terrorism and conspiracy to commit terrorism, both class 2 felonies.

Investigators said Jalo started communicating in internet chat rooms in 2023 with people he described as extremists who were recruiting him.

In one instance, Jalo reportedly posted that they could “bomb 2024 Pride Parade and take over USA.” He later said he was having supplies shipped to him to make explosives.

A search warrant on Jalo’s phone revealed numerous photos of firearms and an instructional video depicting an ISIS fighter making the explosive Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP).

Investigators said Jalo had ordered the chemicals needed to make TATP via Amazon. They believed, based on his chat messages, that he planned to create a “bomb drone” using a remote-controlled vehicle.

“I can tell you that this is an individual who does indicate that he does have some very radical ideas. He is homophobic in his philosophy. He definitely took steps in the process of putting together something that would act as an explosive,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell.

The criminal complaint against Jalo stated that he made online searches for the 2024 Phoenix Pride events and the Phoenix Pride Parade.

Jalo was taken into custody at his home in Peoria on Friday, Oct. 18. The Phoenix Pride Parade rolled through the streets of Central Phoenix without interruption, with Phoenix Police providing security in the form of officers and barriers placed along the mile-long route that ended at Steele Indian School Park where a festival was being held.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Buckeye and Peoria Police Departments investigated the case.