Update 8/6 1:45pm Eastern: Authorities are filing felony explosive charges against the two Middle Eastern men arrested over the weekend…”Authorities in South Carolina are filing charges against two men in connection with a weekend bomb scare. Yousef Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, 24, are facing explosives charges. The two men are USF students. The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office reportedly found a bomb and bomb-making materials — including chemicals, fuses and igniters — in the trunk of the suspects’ car.”

If you believe CAIR, they’re just “naive” University of South Florida students who were on an innocent road trip.

Yeah, that University of South Florida.

Dan Riehl and John Little have more. Writes John: “This case has been weird from the start and I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon.”

Update 8/5 8:45pm Eastern. Law enforcement in SC will hold a press conference tomorrow on the case. John Little notes the odd handling of the incident to date. Dan Riehl notes the shifting MSM stories.
Here’s a photo of the suspects. Say cheese:

The men 21-year-old Yousef Megahed and 24-year-old Ahmed Mohamed were pulled over Saturday evening during a routine traffic stop near Myers Road and Highway 176. Among the explosive devices found were igniters and fusers. Few details about the suspects are known at this time. They are believed to be students at a Florida college. They are of Middle Eastern descent and are not US citizens. Neither man has been charged, but charges are expected Monday. A press conference will be held in Berkeley County on Monday morning. Among the potential charges is possession of unlawful explosives.

***

Tons of readers are e-mailing me about an incident tonight in Charleston, S.C. It’s way too early to tell what this is all about, but here’s a local report via PJM:

Goose Creek – Berkeley County police pulled over a vehicle in a routine traffic stop near Meyers Road and Highway 1-76 around 6 p.m. The vehicle with Florida tags was driven by two men of Middle Eastern descent. Inside police found explosive devices. Highway 1-76 near Goose Creek has since been shut down. In addition to the FBI (website) , authorities from Goose Creek, Berkeley County, and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division are on scene. The Charleston County bomb squad has also been called. Officials on scene say that neighbors are in no immediate danger. They also report that they are unsure if a crime has been committed.

Dan Riehl is following developments.

Another local report, from WISTV, here:

The FBI and the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department are investigating what they think are explosives found in a car in Goose Creek.

Police say part of Highway 176 in Berkeley County is closed, and traffic is limited to local residents around Mount Holly Road.

WIS News 10’s sister station in Charleston, WCBD, reports authorities pulled over a suspicious car at around 6:00pm Saturday. Officers asked to search the vehicles, and discovered what investigators say are “possible explosives” located in the trunk.

Once federal agents were brought in and analyzed the situation, an FBI-controlled robot pulled a bag filled with the suspicious items from the vehicle.

The two men inside the vehicle, which is reported to have Florida tags, have been detained at the scene.

Update via Allah: “No immediate threat.”

FWIW.

Update: Via commenter/blogger Pal2Pal, some interesting info about the area where the car was pulled over…

My husband spent the last three years of his Navy career stationed at the Naval Weapons Station, located in Goose Creek, South Carolina. He was the Dockmaster on the floating drydock, USS Alamogordo. The Gordo’s main purpose was to dock our nuclear submarines for repairs. The weapons station was often closed to civilian traffic as they moved nukes and ordinance to and from ships with Marine guards on orders to shoot to kill.

Highway 176 leads to the base.

Map added…

Another interesting detail about the base:

Authorities closed a highway outside Charleston for more than five hours Saturday night after police found explosives in the trunk of a car, a newspaper reported, citing an FBI agent. Julie Johnson, assistant special agent-in-charge for the FBI in Columbia, said there was “no immediate threat,” according to The (Charleston) Post and Courier.

Law enforcement officials closed the road about 7 p.m. after the traffic stop in Goose Creek, home to the Naval Weapons Station. The station houses the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig, a military prison where enemy combatants have been held.

John Little pulls together more interesting tidbits like this one in bold:

According to Lt. Vince Lombardo, deputies discovered the suspicious items in the trunk during a traffic stop. The two men inside the vehicle are detained at the scene. Lombardo also said information from an investigation in another jurisdiction raised the suspicions of the deputies.

And this one:

At 11:45 p.m., Julie Johnson, assistant special agent-in-charge, FBI-Columbia, told reporters amassed at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses that she would answer no questions, but that the FBI was still trying to determine if a crime had been committed.

She said the agency was working with state and local agencies, and that they were going to be there a long time.

Little reports: “I just got off the phone someone from the Naval Weapons Station. ‘Nobody has any comment’ is all I could get out of them. It was a very annoyed ‘no comment’ at that.”

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