Two face terror charges after Canada Day bombs found

SURREY, British Columbia – Police in Canada have arrested and charged a man and woman with terrorism for attempting to leave pressure cooker bombs at British Columbia’s provincial legislature on Canada Day, when thousands of people were expected to be there.

John Stewart Nuttall and Amanda Marie Korody were inspired by al-Qaida ideology but were self-radicalized, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner James Malizia said Tuesday. He called it a domestic threat without international connections.

Malizia told a news conference there was no evidence or indication to suggest a connection to the deadly Boston Marathon bombings in April, which used bombs made from pressure cookers.

RCMP Superintendent Wayne Rideout said the public was never at risk and the threat was detected early.

Nuttall and Korody were arrested Monday, the same day that thousands attended the Canada Day celebrations at the provincial legislature in the provincial capital of Victoria. Police said the pair targeted the celebrations, but the bombs were found outside the legislature before the crowds gathered.

The pair has been charged with conspiracy, facilitating a terrorist activity and making an explosive device.

Rideout stressed the pressure cooker devices were under police control and were inert.

Nuttall and Korody made a brief court appearance Tuesday and return July 9 for a bail hearing. Tom Morino, Nuttall’s lawyer, said the two are a couple.

“They refer to each other as husband and wife,” Morino told the Associated Press. “It may be a common-law relationship.”

Morino said Nuttall is a convert to Islam, but he added that Islam and al-Qaida “don’t go hand in hand.”

Police said they received a tip from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service that led to what Rideout called a five-month investigation. He said the pair discussed a wide variety of targets and techniques.