December 26, 2009
By Naomi R. Patton
Detroit Free Press

Friday's incident at Detroit Metro Airport harks back to the case of Richard Reid, who was arrested after he tried to ignite an explosive device hidden in his shoe while on an American Airlines Paris-to-Miami flight in 2001.

Photo: Millions of people have to take their shoes off every day at airports because of would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid.

Fellow passengers overpowered Reid, who was arrested after the flight was diverted to Boston. The case led to heightened security at U.S. airports.

Reid, a British citizen and avowed al-Qaida member, was sentenced to life in prison in 2003 after pleading guilty to trying to detonate the shoe bomb with a match.

Zacarias Moussaoui, who pleaded guilty in April 2005 to conspiracy charges in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said Reid was to help him fly a fifth plane into the White House. But prosecutors agreed that there was no evidence to support the claim, according to a statement read to the jury.

Both Reid and Moussaoui are housed in the Supermax federal facility in Florence, Colo. -- a 490-bed fortress dubbed the Alcatraz of the Rockies. Among other inmates there is Oklahoma City bombing conspirator and former Michigander Terry Nichols.

http://www.freep.com/print/article/20091226/NEWS05/912260327/Detroit-Metro-threat-draws-comparisons-to-shoe-bomber