A Saudi Arabian man was charged for transporting a stolen school bus across state lines, after he was caught with the vehicle in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania,
Bader Alzahrani, 22, of Saudi Arabia, is charged with one count of receipt of a stolen vehicle and one count of transportation of a stolen vehicle. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward S. Kiel in Newark federal court on Monday, January 30, 2023.
Authorities said Alzahrani, a divorced college sophomore, stole the school bus in Livingston, New Jersey, and drove it nearly 60 miles to Stroudsburg, PA, kept anti-Semitic journals
On Jan. 15, 2023, a break-in was reported in an unoccupied residential home in Livingston, New Jersey.
Police found in the home a backpack that contained a Saudi Arabian passport bearing Alzahrani’s name, along with other items that apparently belonged to him.
These included journals of messages in both English and Arabic, some of them anti-Semitic, according to the FBI.
Phrases in the journals allegedly include: “God I am ready for your orders. I want to live the rest of my life to serve you and the religion.”
Another said: “Blood, blood, destruction, destruction. Allah.”
And: “Jews control everything.”
Each count charged in the complaint is punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
On Jan. 15, 2023, a break-in was reported in an unoccupied residential home in Livingston, New Jersey. During a search of a backpack in that home, law enforcement saw a Saudi Arabian passport with the name Bader Alzahrani, along with other items that appeared to belong to the Saudi Arabian man.
On Jan. 17, 2023, the Livingston Board of Education reported that a school bus was stolen from a parking lot across the street from the unoccupied residential home where the break-in was reported.
Law enforcement officers located Alzahrani in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where he was found to be in possession of the keys to the stolen school bus by detectives working for Monroe County District Attorney E. David Christine, Jr.
He remained confined in a local New Jersey jail until ICE agents took custody of him.