US v. Pitts, Demetrius Nathaniel
Maple Heights, OH

Al Qaida

[NDOH] Demetrius Nathaniel Pitts, aka Abdur Raheem Rafeeq, aka Salah ad-Deen Osama Waleed, of Maple Heights, Ohio, was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to al Qaida. According to an affidavit filed in the case, between 2015 and 2017, Pitts expressed anti-American sentiments and expressed a desire to recruit people to kill Americans. He expressed a desire to meet with an al Qaida "brother" and he was introduced to an FBI employee acting in an undercover capacity (UCE), who Pitts believed was such a "brother."Pitts discussed launching an attack for al Qaeda during the July 4th holiday with the UCE. Pitts has pleaded guilty to plotting the July 4th attack in Cleveland as part of a plot to provide support to al Qaida.