The city of Kingston, Ont., is still reeling after a young person was charged with terrorism-related offences following thousands of hours of investigation by multiple police agencies and raids on two homes. Here is what we know (and much of what we don't) about the case. What is the young person actually charged with? Police have laid two charges against the young person, who is accused of knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity and counselling another person to "deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive or other lethal device ... against a place of public use with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury." "It's interesting to me what they didn't charge [the youth] with," Leah West, who practices national security law and previously worked in the Justice Department's national security litigation and advisory group, told CBC Radio's The House. "They didn't charge him with S. 83.2, which requires affiliation with a terrorist group to be proven. Because there's no reference to a terrorist group, that could tell me that perhaps they don't think he's associated with a group like ISIS, or they believe he may be self-radicalized or self-inspired." What did the alleged plot entail? ​During a press conference Friday, the RCMP said it received a "credible" tip from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation in late December 2018 that there were individuals in Kingston planning a terrorist attack, which led to the police raids at two homes in the area Thursday. A source with knowledge of the investigation told CBC News the alleged terrorist activity involved a plan to use an explosive device, but a specific target hadn't been chosen yet. Watch: security experts discuss Kingston investigation Charges laid in Kingston terrorism case | Jessica Davis & Pierre-Yves Bourduas Power and Politics 9:28 Former CSIS senior strategic analyst Jessica Davis and former RCMP deputy commissioner Pierre-Yves Bourduas joined Power & Politics to discuss the latest developments in the terrorism investigation in Kingston, Ontario. 9:28 The source said the person or people involved had the intent, began acquiring the potential to create an improvised explosive device and formulated a plan, but the arrests came before a target had been chosen, the source said. "There was no specific target identified but there was an attack planned," RCMP Superintendent Peter Lambertucci told reporters. After the arrests, the RCMP found "elements" and "trace elements" of homemade improvised explosive devices in an unspecified residence. The explosive substance was later neutralized, Lambertucci said. What do we know about the suspect? The identity of the accused has been withheld by police as the person is a minor and protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Because of that publication ban, little can be reported on about who the suspect is. Details about their family, which could reveal the identity of the subject, are also protected. The person will be back in court on Monday. A second individual, an adult male CBC News has identified as Hussam Eddin Alzahabi, was also arrested Thursday but has not been charged. Police officers carry evidence from one of the homes in Kingston, Ont., that were raided. Two people were arrested and a minor has been charged with a terror-related offence. (Lars Hagberg/Canadian Press) Police described the relationship between Hussam Eddin Alzahabi and the person charged as an "informal friendship." Hussam's lawyer, Mohamed El Rashidy, told CBC News that his client maintains his innocence and will continue to co-operate with the security services as the investigation unfolds. "He's exercising his legal rights and he cares about Canada's safety as much as the next person," said El Rashidy. "He's here studying, he's doing everything that he can to be a contributing member to society and there is no reason to malign him or treat him differently than anybody else." Could there be more charges? Former CSIS senior strategic analyst Jessica Davis said she wouldn't be surprised if more charges were laid against other individuals as the investigation continues. "What we know about terrorism in Canada is that individuals rarely act alone," she told CBC's Power & Politics. "They generally have people who they're getting materials or financial support from or encouragement." What was the motivation? Despite repeated questions during Friday's news conference, police would not comment on the ideological motivations of the people apprehended or say if they had any ties to foreign elements. Davis said in order to lay the terrorism charge, officials would have had to have had a clear ideological link, so police are likely remaining silent because it relates to an ongoing investigation. "The individual would have had to been motivated by political, religious ideological considerations so they know what that is," she said. "Whatever the motive is could tip off other individuals." Some of those details could come out when the case heads to trial and the Crown has to argue its case. Was Kingston ever at risk? While police believe an attack was considered imminent, officials maintain there was no credible threat to the people of Kingston. RCMP officer Peter Lambertucci speaks to reporters in Kingston on Jan. 25, 2019. (Jonathan Castell/CBC) "I want to reassure the citizens of the greater Kingston, Ont., area and all Canadians that during the investigation, our primary focus was the safety and protection of the public," said Michael LeSage, a chief superintendent with the RCMP's "O" Division. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the operation has not changed the country's threat level. It remains at "medium," where it has hovered since late 2014. "The number one sentiment that I've been hearing is that people are reassured. They feel that law enforcement has done a good job and are on top of the situation," added Mayor Bryan Paterson. Why is FINTRAC involved? The RCMP said they were supported by both Kingston police and FBI officers with support from the Ontario Provincial Police, Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). That last agency stood out to some national security watchers. As Canada's financial intelligence wing, FINTRAC's job is to detect, prevent and try to stop money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities. It's unclear at this time what role they played. "The only reason that drew it to my mind would be if they were transferring money to an area that was flagged or receiving money that was flagged from an area that was of concern to FINTRAC or the banks," said West. West also pointed to CBSA's shout-out in this probe as interesting, but it's unclear what role they played. Again, more details about the scope of the investigation are likely to trickle out in court as both sides build their arguments.<doc-sep>Open this photo in gallery Police officers carry evidence after raiding a house in Kingston, Ontario, on Thursday Jan. 24, 2019. Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press Federal counterterrorism officers in Canada have charged a youth in connection with an alleged terrorist bomb plot in Kingston. The youth, who cannot be identified by law, was charged with “counselling a person to deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive or other lethal device” in a public place, according to an RCMP statement on Friday. He is also charged with “facilitating a terrorist activity.” Story continues below advertisement A 20-year-old man was also arrested Thursday but was released without charges Friday afternoon, according to the RCMP. During a news conference on Friday, Canadian counterterrorism detectives said their investigation began in December following a tip relayed from their American counterparts. The Federal Bureau of Investigation relayed news of a potential “attack plot” being hatched in Canada, police say, but details about the scheme were scant. In the weeks that followed, more than 300 officers from several forces teamed up to conduct surveillance and run down leads. During raids on residential properties in Kingston on Thursday, police say they found Trace elements of materials that could potentially be used in an homemade bomb – and exploded these materials to neutralize them. No additional information is being released about the alleged attack plot’s targets, its underlying motivations, or potential ties to terrorist groups overseas. Police are saying that this week’s terrorism bust has no links to unrelated threats that prompted a series of school lockdowns in the city last month. The two arrested men are said to be friends with one another, but it is not clear why one has been charged and the other has not. Police say they will have to either charge the adult suspect or let him go by the end of the day Friday. The arrests took place on Thursday by heavily armed police tactical teams who surrounded residential houses in Kingston, a city located three hours east of Toronto. Residents of the city have remarked on aerial surveillance taking place by an RCMP plane weeks before the arrests. There is no information suggesting the public was in any imminent danger. Story continues below advertisement The Mounties are thanking a series of law-enforcement partners for helping lay the groundwork for the arrests, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, local law enforcement and also several Canadian government border and intelligence agencies. This week’s arrests follow weeks of speculation by Kingston residents about the possible use of a potential government surveillance plane hovering around the city. On Friday, the RCMP publicly confirmed that its “air assets” were involved in the investigation. Local residents had been increasingly suspicious of a plane flying overhead in recent weeks. Valerie Gray says she started hearing it around Jan. 10, but couldn’t see anything above, likely because of cloud cover. On Jan. 13, the night cleared, and she saw what looked like a silhouette of a plane without any lights on it. “Every five minutes, it was flying over the house,” she told The Globe and Mail on Friday. “It never showed up on any flight trackers,” she said. “I tried contacting [the Department of National Defence] as well as [Canadian Forces Base] Trenton to see if I could get any answers from them. No luck there at all. They didn’t even respond.​” Police searched two homes on Thursday. One was a small red-brick house close to the city’s downtown core. Police continued to hold the home under their control on late Friday morning, with cars blocking off the road. A large white van was parked outside the home. Vanessa Macfarlane, who lives next door, had met the family several times before. They’d helped her move couches, and brought over food around Christmastime. She said one resident was an adolescent boy. Story continues below advertisement With a report from The Canadian Press<doc-sep>The RCMP's national security team has arrested and charged an Ontario youth with a terrorism-related offence, the police force said Friday following an investigation in Kingston, Ont. Police have laid two charges against the young person, who is accused of knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity and counselling another person to "deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive or other lethal device ... against a place of public use with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury." The identity of the accused has been withheld by police as the person is a minor and protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. During a press conference Friday, the RCMP said it received a "credible" tip from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation in late December 2018 that there were individuals in Kingston planning a terrorist attack, which led to the police raids at two homes in the area Thursday. A source with knowledge of the investigation said the alleged terrorist activity involved a plan to use an explosive device; no specific target had yet been chosen. The accused had the intent, began acquiring the potential to create an improvised explosive device and formulated a plan, but were arrested before they had chosen a target, the source said. "There was no specific target identified but there was an attack planned," RCMP Superintendent Peter Lambertucci told reporters. While an attack was considered imminent, the officer said there was no credible threat to the people of Kingston. A minor, who can't be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, appeared in a Kingston courtroom Friday to face two charges related to an anti-terrorism investigation. (Laurie Foster-MacLeod sketch) "I want to reassure the citizens of the greater Kingston, Ont., area and all Canadians that during the investigation, our primary focus was the safety and protection of the public," said Michael LeSage, a chief superintendent with the RCMP's "O" Division. After the arrests, the RCMP found "elements" and "trace elements" of homemade improvised explosive devices in an unspecified residence. The explosive substance was later neutralized, Lambertucci said. A second individual, an adult male CBC News has identified as Hussam Eddin Alzahabi, was also arrested Thursday but has not been charged. Alzahabi's father told CBC News that police have now released his son. Hussam's lawyer, Mohamed El Rashidy, told CBC News that his client maintains his innocence and will continue to co-operate with the security services as the investigation unfolds. "He's exercising his legal rights and he cares about Canada's safety as much as the next person," said El Rashidy. "He's here studying, he's doing everything that he can to be a contributing member to society and there is no reason to malign him or treat him differently than anybody else." Lambertucci said the investigation is still ongoing. Police had 24 hours to press charges against Alzahabi or release him from custody. The officer would not comment on the ideological motivations of the people apprehended or say if they had any ties to foreign elements. RCMP officer Peter Lambertucci speaks to reporters in Kingston on Jan. 25, 2019. (Jonathan Castell/CBC) Police described the relationship between Hussam Eddin Alzahabi and the person charged as an "informal friendship." Earlier Friday, the father of Hussam Eddin Alzahabi said he was astounded by the arrest of his 20-year-old son. "They tell me they search about him about terrorists. I know my son, he didn't think about that. He like Canada. He like the safety in Canada. How could he think about that?" Amin Alzahabi, who has been in Canada since 2017, told CBC News' Philip Ling in an interview from his home Friday morning. "It's fake news about my son. I trust my son. I know he cannot do anything against any human, humanity. "They inspected everything from my house. They didn't find anything. I think this is not good." In carrying out the arrests, the RCMP were supported by both Kingston police and FBI officers with support from the Ontario Provincial Police, Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). On Thursday, officers could be seen carrying bags of evidence out of the homes. By Friday morning, the police presence was contained to just one residence. Alzahabi said his family, originally from Syria, has been living in Canada since July 2017, following time spent in Kuwait from 2008 to 2017. According to a bulletin posted to the website of a Kingston-area Catholic church detailing the journey of the Alzahabi family, an ecumenical group of churches helped bring them to Canada through the private sponsorship refugee program in 2016-17. The church group established a series of committees, including a hospitality and orientation committee composed of parishioners, and raised more than $30,000 to help support the family's transition to life in Canada. Alzahabi said he and his family came to Canada to be "liberated" and to avoid being sent back to Syria — which is still in the throes of a multi-year bloody civil war — by the Kuwaiti government. "I want to save my family from Assad regime in Syria," he said, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad​, who's accused of perpetrating war crimes against his own people. "I wanted to come to Canada and I [succeeded] in coming to Canada because I trust Canada. I trust this country is for the humanity ... freedom," Alzahabi said. To that end, Amin Alzahabi said his son was completing high school upgrades at Loyalist Collegiate & Vocational Institute with the hope he could then continue his studies at a university. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said police took action Thursday "based on credible information, to ensure public safety." The RCMP arrested two people following the raids on the two homes in what officials are calling a national security investigation. (Cristiano Vilela) The minister said the operation has not changed the country's threat level. It remains at "medium," where it has hovered since late 2014. However, the threat was considered serious enough to involve months of investigation, thousands of hours of police work and the use of a Pilatus PC-12 RCMP surveillance plane that had been circling over Kingston in recent weeks for hours on end, creating a great deal of interest from residents due to the noise. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer commended the work of the RCMP and local police while adding the continuing terrorist threat demands strong national security legislation to help law enforcement. Scheer also said Canada's "refugee screening process needs to be seriously examined." Goodale reacts to Scheer on Kingston arrests CBC News 0:43 Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale dismisses Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer's comments on refugee screening in wake of arrests, says police should be left alone to conduct investigation free of speculation 0:43 "We've recently learned of several examples of dangerous individuals entering the country due in part to lax screening procedures," Scheer said. "In 2017, as an audit of the Canada Border Services Agency reported, 39 cases did not receive the necessary security screening and therefore, potential security threats may not have been identified prior to granting admissibility. This is completely unacceptable and must be immediately remedied." Goodale, speaking to reporters after a meeting with provincial counterparts, said Scheer's comment on bolstering the security of the refugee screening process was premature. "Somehow he already knows or is presuming the result of a police investigation. I think it's wiser in these circumstances, rather than leaping to conclusions, that the police do their job. Let's get the facts on the table and then we'll determine the appropriate course of action," Goodale said.<doc-sep>
Open this photo in gallery Police officers carry evidence after raiding a house in Kingston, Ont., on Thursday Jan. 24, 2019. Lars Hagberg Canadian counterterrorism detectives have arrested a teenager in Kingston and accused him of conspiring to hatch a terrorist bomb plot. RCMP Superintendent Peter Lambertucci said at a news conference on Friday that the youth, who cannot be identified by law, was arrested on Thursday and charged with facilitating a terrorist activity. He is also accused of counselling a person to deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive in a public place. The officer revealed little else about the case. The youth appeared before a judge on Friday afternoon, but almost all details about what was said are covered by a court-ordered publication ban. Story continues below advertisement Supt. Lambertucci said police also arrested a 20-year-old friend of the accused. He was held for one day before being released without charges on Friday afternoon. The courts will likely not determine the outcome of the case for several years. Police say that in recent weeks, more than 300 police and intelligence officers from across the country worked together on the investigation. They also relied on an RCMP surveillance plane that buzzed conspicuously around Kingston for weeks. During the Friday news conference, RCMP officials said the probe began with a tip from their U.S. counterparts. Supt. Lambertucci said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation relayed news in December of a potential “attack plot” in Canada, but details were sparse. Heavily armed police in tactical gear searched two Kingston homes on Thursday. Police said they found trace elements of materials that could have been used in an improvised explosive device. Working late into the night, a bomb-squad “detonated what was believed to be an explosive substance in the early morning,” the RCMP said in a statement. No information is being released about suspected targets in the alleged plot, or potential motivations. Nothing has been disclosed about any ties to terrorist groups overseas. Police said the two men who were arrested are friends, and did not indicate why one was charged and the other let go. Supt. Lambertucci said there is no information to suggest residents of Kingston were in any danger. The police effort to preserve public safety appears to have been so pronounced that residents had been buzzing among themselves for days about the government surveillance plane running loops above the city at night. Story continues below advertisement Kingston resident Valerie Gray said she started hearing it around Jan. 10, although she could not see anything in the sky because of cloud cover. Three days later, the weather cleared, she said, and she saw what looked like a silhouette of a plane without any lights on it. “Every five minutes, it was flying over the house,” she told The Globe and Mail on Friday. “It never showed up on any flight trackers,” she said. “I tried contacting [the Department of National Defence] as well as [Canadian Forces Base] Trenton to see if I could get any answers from them. No luck there at all. They didn’t even respond.​” Supt. Lambertucci confirmed on Friday that RCMP “air assets” were involved in the investigation. He did not describe the capabilities of the aircraft, but said it allowed police to keep close tabs on intersections of interest. One of the homes raided was a small red-brick house close to the city’s downtown core. Police continued to hold it under their control on Friday, with cars blocking the road. Vanessa Macfarlane, who lives next door, said she had met the family that lives there several times. She said one resident was an adolescent boy. The family had helped her move couches, she said, and brought over food around Christmas time. Story continues below advertisement The 20-year-old was released around the time the 24-hour period in which Canadian police can hold someone without laying charges expired. The Globe and Mail has chosen not to identify his family. The man’s sister said in an interview with The Globe that the fact he was not charged means he has done nothing wrong and that his arrest was a mistake. She said her mother was traumatized by Thursday’s police raid on the family home. The family of five is from Syria originally, but the children grew up partly in Kuwait, the sister said.