Samy Mohamed Hamzeh

MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man who authorities say planned to kill dozens of
people in a mass shooting at a local Masonic temple pleaded not guilty to
weapons charges in federal court on Tuesday.

Samy Mohamed Hamzeh, 23, appeared in U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where he is charged with possession
of two machineguns and a silencer, according to online court records. He was
arrested last month.

Hamzeh made his not guilty plea in front of U.S. Judge David
Jones. Hamzeh responded “yes sir” several times to the judge’s
instructions. After the brief hearing, Hamzeh was swiftly lead out of the
courtroom, passing his father and crying mother who extended her hand to her
son.

No trial date was set as his attorney Craig Albee and U.S.
Attorney Paul Kanter told the court that they need time to review hundreds of
hours of secretly recorded conversations Hamzeh allegedly had in Arabic with
two people who turned out to be FBI confidential sources.

Kanter would not comment on whether he is considering additional
charges against Hamzeh, who is being held without bond. Albee declined to
comment.

According to the complaint, Hamzeh, a U.S. citizen, told the FBI
sources that he was planning to use the weapons in an attack on a Milwaukee
temple that would be “known the world over” in order to “ignite
broader clashes.”

Hamzeh was under investigation since September, when he was
considering an attack on Israelis in the West Bank. He abandoned that plan and
began plotting an attack in the United States, according to a criminal
complaint against him.

On Jan. 19, Hamzeh and the FBI sources practiced firing a
handgun at a range and then took a guided tour of the Masonic temple in order
to plot the attack, the criminal complaint said.

“I am telling you, if this hit is executed, it will be
known all over the world,” Hamzeh told the sources, according to the
Justice Department. “Sure, all over the world, all the mujahedeen will be
talking and they will be proud of us.”

He was arrested on Jan. 25 after he bought two machineguns and a
silencer from undercover FBI agents to be used in the attack, authorities said.

A
Masonic temple is a meeting place for Masons, members of a fraternal
organization.