Born: 1970;

Place of Birth: United States;

Gender: Male;

Nationality: American;

General Info:
Demetrius Nathaniel Pitts (also known as Abdur Raheem Rafeeq and Salah ad-Deen Osama Waleed) is a U.S. citizen living in Ohio, who pledged his allegiance to al-Qaida terrorist group, and was planning to conduct an attack in Cleveland on Independence Day.

He pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, threats against the President of the United States and threats against family members of the President of the United States.

Authorities said they learned about Pitts in January 2017 following comments he posted on photographs of a possible jihad training camp, according to court documents.

He was arrested on July 2, 2018, after several meetings with an undercover FBI agent who he discussed his plans for an attack on Cleveland. Pitts said he wanted to park a van loaded with explosives somewhere Downtown.

Pitts claimed he would also “take targets such as St. John’s Cathedral off the map,” according to authorities. Pitts also allegedly discussed giving remote control toy cars armed with explosives to children of military uniform members.

He plotted an attack on families and children in downtown Cleveland on July 4th, a day of utmost importance to all Americans, and he further attempted to undermine our democracy by making threats against the President and his family.

Pitts sent messages saying he would conduct reconnaissance of Downtown by taking photographs and videos he would then pass on to his al-Qaida “brothers”. He expressed a desire to learn more about potential targets such as the nearby U.S. Coast Guard station in Cleveland by taking a tour of the facility.

On June 26, 2018, Pitts contacted a confidential human source (CHS) and said he completed his reconnaissance of target areas in Cleveland, authorities said.

The following day, Pitts turned over a cell phone containing photos and videos to the undercover agent so it could “be provided to the al-Qaida brothers.” Later the same day, Pitts and the undercover agent drove to Cleveland to discuss further plans, authorities said.

Videos on the phone showed Pitts pledging his allegiance to al-Qaida where could be seen saying, “We serve Allah… We fight our enemies. We destroy them and destroy those who try to oppose…”

When authorities said they reminded Pitts that his plan would kill people, he responded that he didn’t have any regrets or care. Pitts told them, “And I’m gonna be downtown when the – when the thing go off. I’m gonna be somewhere cuz I wanna see it go off.”

He threatened to kidnap the president and cut off his head and hands. He also allegedly threatened Trump’s family. The indictment states Pitts said he would, “Kill his kids. Kill his daughter, son-in-law. Kill ‘em all. He (the president) come out ‘cause you start killing his kids, chop their heads off… you send his kids back.”

Pitts was sentenced in federal court to 14 years imprisonment and a lifetime of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, according to a news release from the USAG’s office.

In February of 2019, Pitts was additionally charged with threats against the president of the United States, threats against immediate family members of the president of the United States and two counts of false statements to law enforcement.

Pitts was also sentenced to five years imprisonment for the threats against the President of the United States and threats against family members of the President of the United States. Those three sentences will run concurrently.