PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A Peoria 18-year-old convicted of planning an ISIS-inspired terror attack on the 2024 Phoenix Pride Parade is set to be sentenced Friday morning.
Marvin Aneer Jalo was 17 years old when he was arrested and charged as an adult with felony terrorism and conspiracy charges. He pleaded guilty on April 3 to two counts of terroristic threats.
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge is set to sentence Jalo at 8:30 a.m.
Marvin Aneer Jalo, who pleaded guilty to terroristic threats in an alleged ISIS-inspired Phoenix Pride attack plot, is set to be sentenced Friday.(Arizona’s Family)
Authorities said Jalo planned to create a “bomb drone” using a remote-controlled vehicle ahead of Oct. 18, the first day of Phoenix Pride events. The celebration culminated with the annual parade on Sunday, Oct. 20.
During a hearing last year, prosecutors said Jalo detailed how he wanted to place TATP and C-4 explosives around buildings to create an explosion, and once crowds fled, he would use a remote-controlled drone.
Jalo’s attorney told the judge there was no indication the teen was actually going to carry out the plot, arguing the chat rooms were full of talk and casual messages, including “lol.”
His attorney also argued that photos of the alleged TATP explosive, which a detective said was assembled in a bowl in his mother’s kitchen, showed only a “science experiment” and not enough material to make a bomb.
Prosecutors rejected that argument, saying the materials showed Jalo was making an explosive device based on a plan he had seen in an ISIS video. They also said there was no evidence he had abandoned his intent of “becoming a jihadi” and that he never disavowed pursuing jihad.
The 2024 Phoenix Pride Parade proceeded without interruption through central Phoenix, with officers and barriers lining the mile-long route to Steele Indian School Park, where a festival was held.
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