Islamic Extremist Planned to ‘Make Yellowstone Supervolcano Erupt’ in US Terror Plot
More: Islamic Extremist Planned to ‘Make Yellowstone Supervolcano Erupt’ in US Terror Plot
A man in Canada on trial for plotting to derail a passenger train also wanted to make Yellowstone supervolcano erupt, a Toronto court has heard.
Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, wanted to trigger a catastrophic volcanic eruption at Yellowstone National Park but ended up dismissing the idea because it would have been too difficult, a court heard.
An undercover FBI agent told how Esseghaier, a Montreal PhD student from Tunisia,and co-accused Raed Jaser, a Palestinian dispatcher from Ontario, talked about the “death and destruction” a blast from Yellowstone would cause.
“Wouldn’t it be great if my enemies’ worst national disaster could happen?” the agent told the court Esseghaier said.
Last year, scientists at the US Geological Survey explained what would happen if Yellowstone were to produce a supereruption. Findings indicated the umbrella cloud was capable of pushing ash as far as 1,500km away.
In the long-term, the authors said there would be major climate effects and large parts of the US would be blanketed in ash, causing disruption to transport, power and farming.
The agent said Esseghaier was “very passionate” about making Yellowstone erupt, but eventually decided to target the Canadian passenger train instead, the Star reports.
“No. We cannot do anything to make the volcano erupt. It’s very deep. I don’t have any access,” Esseghaier is alleged to have said.
But hey let’s frack Yellowstone! What could go wrong?
