Several air traffic controllers in New York heard a frightening threat on Monday in audio obtained exclusively by CBS News: “We are going to fly a plane to the Capitol on Wednesday. Soleimani will be avenged.”
The threat refers to Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed last year in a U.S. drone attack ordered by President Trump. It was done on the one-year anniversary of Soleimani’s death, for which Iranian authorities have long vowed revenge.
It is not clear who sent the threat. Although the government does not believe that an attack alert is reliable, it is being investigated as a violation of aviation frequencies, CBS News learns.
Sources told CBS News that the Pentagon and other agencies were informed on Tuesday about the digitized voice recording. The sources said they believed the threat was designed to suggest reaching the Capitol on the same day that Congress must count the results of the Electoral College.
Experts said the intrusion is worrying because it can affect the instructions pilots receive about how and where airplanes fly.
Sources told CBS News that a message was sent to air traffic controllers on Tuesday, reminding them that any threat or an aircraft deviating from its flight path should be reported immediately.
The FBI is not commenting, but said it takes “all threats of violence to public security seriously”. The Federal Aviation Administration said it is in contact with the authorities.
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