Israel Charges U.S. Citizen With Planning to Bomb Muslim Holy Sites in Jerusalem

Israeli police arrested a Christian U.S. citizen posing as an ex-Navy SEAL who was planning to attack Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, authorities announced Tuesday.

The Israeli Justice Ministry said 30-year-old Adam Everett Livvix worked with his roommate, an Israeli soldier, to obtain 1.4 kilograms of explosives, according to the Associated Press.

The Jerusalem Post reported Livvix traveled to Israel from Texas last year, fleeing the U.S., where he was wanted for questioning on drug-related charges. He lived for a while in the Palestinian-controlled cities of Bethlehem and Hebron.

Police sources told the Jerusalem Post that during Livvix’s travels, he met a Palestinian who tried to recruit him for a plot to use a sniper rifle to assassinate President Barack Obama during his visit to Israel last year, but that Livvix refused to participate in that plan.

The investigation in Israel was coordinated with the FBI, the Post reported.

After his time in Palestinian cities, police said he moved to Israel, where he posed as an ex-Navy SEAL.

A search of his apartment uncovered ammunition and spare gun parts stolen from the Israeli military, police said.

According to the indictment quoted by the Jerusalem Post, after police kicked down his door to enter, Livvix jumped from his seventh-story window to the sixth-floor balcony underneath.

Police said Livvix admitted to involvement in fraud-related crimes and to making initial preparations for attacks on Muslim holy sites in Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Livvix was arrested on Nov. 19 and indicted in a court in Netanya on Monday.

Livvix's attorney, Gal Wolf, told the Israeli news site NRG, “This case was presented by the Shin Bet as one of the worst security cases that the state of Israel has known,” yet for eight days Livvix was in custody without the representation of a defense attorney.

“The indictment filed in the end shows that there was no justification for preventing the meeting and for violating his right to consult with defense counsel,” Wolf said.