St. Louis: Muslim told coworkers he was in ISIS, could blow them up with one call

It’s every day. How desperately we need leaders who will challenge the Muslim community in the U.S. to clean its own house and back up its condemnations of jihad terrorism with real action against it.

“Creve Coeur worker told coworkers he was in ISIS, could blow them up with one call, authorities say,” by Kim Bell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 5, 2016:

A south St. Louis County man has been charged with making a terrorist threat after allegedly telling co-workers at a luxury car-detailing shop that he belonged to ISIS and could have their job site blown up by making one phone call.

Prosecutors on Sunday charged Mustafa Barimac, 26, with the felony. His bail was set at $500,000, cash only. He made his initial court appearance Monday morning. His next court date is scheduled for Jan. 4 before Associate Circuit Judge John Borbonus.

Creve Coeur police say Barimac made the comments on Nov. 25, the day after Thanksgiving, to co-workers at an auto detailing firm, Teph Seal, at 11830 Olive Boulevard.

He told co-workers he was affiliated with ISIS and even showed them a tattoo he claimed was an ISIS tattoo.

“He threatened to co-workers that he could place one phone call and have the place blown up,” Creve Coeur Detective Cory Mueller said in court papers.

Mueller said it was hard to pin down why Barimac made the threat. Mueller said it could have been due to the face that Barimac was a detailer who was angry about his paycheck and job responsibilities. Mueller said Barimac thought he had been promised a promotion to a low-level manager with a pay hike, and that didn’t happen as quickly as he had wanted.

Workers didn’t notify police until a week later.

“At first, he was a big talker,” Mueller said. “But as time went on and he started adding on this ISIS bit and showed the tattoo, it made people take him more seriously. The statements built up over time.”

A week after the ISIS comment, police in Creve Coeur were notified and they began working with the FBI. Police conducted constant surveillance of Barimac, including at Barimac’s parents’ home where he lives in the 300 block of Southhampton Drive, near Jefferson Barracks park in south St. Louis County. Police in Creve Coeur brought a dog that can detect explosives to the business and searched it Saturday, the same day Barimac was arrested at another business in St. Louis they followed him to.

No bombs or bomb-making equipment were found at the business, on him, his car or at his parents’ home, police say. His tattoo “ended up being in Arabic, along the lines of, ‘Only God or Allah can judge me,’” Mueller said.

Barimac admitted to police that he made it up, police say. He agreed that the comments would reach the entire workforce of about 25 people, Mueller said. A few weeks before the ISIS threat, Mueller said, Barimac told co-workers he had access to firearms and if another issue came up he “could come to the business and take care of all Teph Seal employees.” Mueller said police didn’t find out about the firearms threat until workers reported the ISIS threat Friday. Police say they found no social media site associated with Barimac, except an old MySpace site that he doesn’t maintain.

Court records do not indicate if Barimac has an attorney yet. His parents could not be reached for comment. Mueller said they speak limited English. He said Barimac, a Bosnian, has been in the St. Louis area since high school and lived in Iowa before that. The FBI is developing an intelligence file on Barimac, but he was not on their radar before this report, authorities say….