With the recent spate of terror attacks in Minnesota, New York and New Jersey, the question often comes up in casual conversation: Could it happen here?

The answer is it very nearly did, and chilling evidence of that came out in full force this week when Hasan Edmonds of Aurora was sentenced to maximum of 30 years in prison for plotting to kill 150 of his fellow Illinois National Guard soldiers in Joliet.

U.S. District Judge John Lee sentenced Edmonds during a Tuesday (Sept. 20, 2016) hearing in federal court. Earlier that day, Lee sentenced Jonas Edmonds, Hasan’s older cousin, to a 21-year prison sentence for agreeing to put on Hasan’s uniform and carry out the attack, according to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and other media reports.

“You took an oath to safeguard this country, its citizens and residents, as well as your fellow soldiers … soldiers that you later planned to kill in cold blood,” the judge said to Edmonds.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced in December that Hasan had pleaded guilty to helping plan the mass killing.

The case had been investigated by the FBI’s Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Illinois State Police, the Aurora Police Department and the Illinois National Guard also provided significant assistance in the investigation.

“We will pursue and prosecute with vigor those who support ISIL and its agenda of ruthless violence,” U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon said in an earlier U.S. Department of Justice news release. “Anyone who threatens to harm our citizens and allies, whether abroad or here at home, will face the full force of justice.”

Read More

• National Guard Soldier From Aurora Pleads Guilty to Supporting ISIS
• Aurora Man Pleads Guilty to ISIS-Inspired Terror Plot
• Aurora Cousins Will Plead Guilty to Plotting Terror Attack Here
• 2 Aurora Men — A National Guardsman and His Cousin — Arrested on Terrorism Charges
• Hasan Edmonds Superseding Information
• Chicago Sun-Times: Hasan Edmonds gets 30 years for plot on National Guard base
• Chicago Tribune: National Guard member and cousin given long prison terms for terror plot