January to May

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis starts classes at Southeast Missouri State University. A foreign student from Bangladesh, Nafis announces his major as cybersecurity and takes 12 credit hours of classes before transferring out of the school after the semester ends.

July 5

The federal complaint says Nafis placed a call to a confidential FBI informant saying he came to the U.S. to wage jihad.

July 6 to 8

Nafis and the informant discuss whether coming into the U.S. on a pretense of a student visa to wage jihad violated Islamic law. They concluded that it did not.

July 14

Nafis says he intends to return to Bangladesh to get training from al-Qaida.

July 15

Nafis says he wants al-Qaida assistance in launching a terror attack in the U.S.

Aug. 5

Nafis says he is considering attacking the New York Stock Exchange. In the days that follow, Nafis allegedly scouts out the Manhattan financial district several times.

Aug. 27

Nafis tells the informant that he believes he's now a member of al-Qaida.

Sept. 15

Nafis expresses his desire to pull off an attack with multiple explosive devices in multiple cars, and says he's willing to die in the attack, but would like to see his family in Bangladesh first.

Sept. 20

Nafis scouts out storage spaces to conceal explosives and says he wants to attack the Federal Reserve instead of, or in addition to the stock exchange.

Sept. 27

Nafis is told he can't return to Bangladesh before the attack because it might compromise the operation, but that he can detonate the explosives remotely to spare his life. Nafis says he hopes the upcoming attack will interrupt presidential elections in the U.S.

Oct. 4

Nafis travels to a warehouse he believes will be suitable for storing explosives to be used in the attack.

Oct. 15

The decision is made to attack Oct. 17.

Oct. 17

Nafis and an undercover agent drive to the warehouse where the fake explosives are stored, assemble the explosives and park a vehicle in front of the federal reserve. He records a video statement meant for the American public, then tries to detonate the explosives unsuccessfully. Federal agents swoop in and arrest Nafis.

Source: Southeast Missouri State University officials and the federal complaint against Nafis