Convicted terrorist re-sentenced to 27 years in prison after 2012 downtown Chicago bomb plot

Friday, July 19, 2024
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A man convicted of attempting to detonate a purported bomb outside a crowded Loop bar has been re-sentenced to 27 years in prison.

Adel Daoud of Hillside was serving a 16-year sentence for the September 2012 incident, but federal prosecutors appealed the sentence, saying it was too lenient.

They had asked the judge to impose a 40-year sentence, but a 27-year sentence was decided Friday.

Last year, Daoud was denied compassionate release to tend to his allegedly sick mother.

In 2011, when federal agents began tracking then-west suburban teenager Daoud, investigators say he was looking to blow up 29 potential targets.



The Hillside teen went to a downtown Chicago tavern in 2012 with plans to press a button and detonate a half-ton car bomb, according to investigators. But it was actually an undercover FBI sting operation; the law enforcement ruse ended with Daoud in custody and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

READ MORE: Hillside terrorist uses 'PB and J' explanation in failed attempt to get Loop bomb plot case tossed
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The I-Team learned that Daoud has continued a decade of legal wrangling aimed at achieving early freedom. He was previously due to be held at the MCC-Chicago until May 3, 2026.

Over the years, Daoud has written letters and made calls from prison, including some to the I-Team, with outlandish claims, including the presence of "lizard people" and "cosmic aliens" running the U.S. government, and that the judge in his case was a "reptilian overlord."

RELATED: Hillside terrorist's attempt to retract guilty plea stopped by federal judge

Judge Matthew Kennelly previously said Daoud doesn't qualify for compassionate release under the rules, and won't be allowed release on bond.

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