By most accounts, Morgan's Tavern in Riverside, California, is a typical dive bar. A dingy, pirate-themed hole in the wall, the place has mixed service and offers cheap domestic beer, according to Yelp reviews. Dollar bills are stapled to its ceiling, and on Thursdays, five bucks will buy you into a singles' beer pong tournament.
24-year-old Enrique Marquez, a former security guard who got fired from Walmart earlier this year, worked at the bar doing odd jobs until quite recently. He refreshed ice sinks, manned the door, took out the trash, mopped floors, and cleaned the restrooms, as the New York Times reported. Tavern owner Jerry Morgan hired him three years ago, and Marquez often kicked back at the spot for a few drinks on his days off, sometimes coming directly from praying at his mosque.
But when Marquez—who converted to Islam several years back—drank, he was prone to chatter, occasionally talking about terrorism, and even speaking vaguely of sleeper cells. No one seemed to give the man and his bloviating a second thought—until the terrorist attack in nearby San Bernardino that killed 14 and injured 22 early this month. Now the feds are poised to file criminal charges against Marquez, a neighbor and friend to the Muslim couple that carried out the murderous rampage at the Inland Regional Center. Marquez was arrested Thursday, the Washington Post reported, and the charges would be the first in the deadliest domestic terrorist attack since September 11, 2001—one that has roiled the country and lent a dose of toxicity to the presidential campaign.
Hours after the shooting in San Bernardino, a cryptic message emerged on Marquez's Facebook page: "I'm. Very sorry sguys (sic). It was a pleasure."
According to Reuters, Marquez has admitted to supplying the two assault rifles to terrorist couple Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, who were killed in a shootout with police. Marquez was friends with Farook during their teenage years, and checked himself into a Los Angeles-area psychiatric facility not long after the attack. He has since become the key lead in the FBI's investigation into the massacre, waiving his right to silence and self incrimination, and reportedly cooperating fully with authorities. He's given the feds so much information, in fact, they've begun to wonder how reliable the narrative he's providing is, and fear he may be "grandstanding," as the Washington Post reported.
According to law enforcement officials, Marquez told the FBI that he and Farook had discussed launching an attack as far back as 2012. But they got cold feet when a nearby terrorism investigation resulted in the arrest of multiple men allegedly plotting to kill Americans in Afghanistan.
Marquez also indicated that he bought the two guns on Farook's behalf, when the latter believed he wouldn't pass a background check—a federal crime that carries a stiff penalty. Officials do not believe Marquez had knowledge of the attack before they took place, however.
In addition to being close childhood friends, as the Associated Press reported, Marquez and Farook were listed as witnesses on a marriage license when the latter's brother, Raheel, wed in 2011. A few years later, Raheel Farook and his bride Tatiana, returned the favor for Marquez, acting as witnesses in his marriage to Tatiana's Russian sister Manya Chernykh, according to Riverside County records.
For their part, Marquez's family has declined many an interview request from the media since the December 2 attack, but last week, his mother Armida Chacon spoke briefly to reporters, calling her son "a good person."
A news conference was scheduled later Thursday in San Bernardino concerning the charges—the precise nature of which remained unclear—but was reportedly postponed. On Friday, President Barack Obama is due to travel to San Bernardino to meet privately with victims' families for the first time since the tragedy.
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