Terror Plot Targeted South Tampa, Ybor City Locations, Feds Say

The suspect in an alleged terror plot to blow up a target in Tampa — possibly — was arrested over the weekend, federal authorities said Monday.

Sami Osmakac, 25, of Pinellas Park, was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, TBO.com reports. Federal agents took him into custody after he tried to buy explosives, at least 10 grenades, Uzis and an AK-47 during an FBI sting operation.

Osmakac is described by authorities as having extremist jihadist beliefs and wanted to blow up a target in Tampa and create "terror" in victims' hearts, according to the TBO report. His possible targets included government buildings, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office operations center in Ybor City, nightclubs in Ybor and, ultimately, a pub in South Tampa, apparently MacDinton's, authorities said.

"I want to do something terrifying," he said, according to a federal complaint cited by TBO.com, "like one day, one night, something's going to happen. Then six hours later, something else."

Osmakac was also arrested last April after getting into a fight outside the St. Pete Times Forum during a Lady Gaga concert, police records show. He had gotten into a religious debate that turned physical with a man who was part of a group of protesters outside the concert, according to a Tampa Police Department report.

The incident can be seen in a YouTube video entitled Muslim Attacks; Police Charge Victim With Crime. Police have confirmed that the man in the video is Osmakac.

Osmakac, who had been "dressed in what appeared to be traditional Middle-Eastern attire with a small cloth in his head," got into a heated argument with Anthony Capo, 56, of Key West, during which the men exchanged "nasty and personal attacks" that eventually led to an altercation. Osmakac apparently headbutted Capo during the incident, leaving him with a bloody mouth, the report states.

Both men were charged with battery and released on their own recognizance.

Osmakac was then arrested by Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies in September 2011 for failing to appear in court.