Suspect in LAX threats allegedly sent suspicious package to counselor

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A former Transportation Security Administration screener suspected of making threats to terminals at Los Angeles International Airport was arrested just before midnight while sitting in a van that was parked at the Harvest Church, at Urban Street and Arlington Avenue in Riverside. FBI and Riverside police investigators gather evidence from the van and around it on Wednesday morning. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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FBI and Riverside police investigators gather evidence from the van. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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An investigator holds up evidence gathered from van. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A cross found inside the van is carried away from the scene. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Nna Alpha Onuoha, 29, was taken into custody in Riverside before midnight after he allegedly made threats against LAX terminals earlier in the day following his resignation from his post as a screener with the Transporation Security Administration. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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An investigator looks at evidence found inside the van. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Leads on Onuoha’s whereabouts led authorities to Harvest Christian Fellowship Church in Riverside, where Riverside police and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested him. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

By Ruben Vives and Richard Winton

Sept. 11, 2013 2:22 PM PT

The counselor for an ex-TSA agent accused of making 9/11 threats against LAX received a suspicious package in the mail Wednesday, Inglewood police said.

The package was sent to the Inglewood veterans home where Nna Alpha Onuoha lived.

The complex has been cordoned off with police tape and Inglewood police have requested that a bomb squad examine the package as a precaution, Inglewood Police Capt. James Madia said. Onuoha was arrested after allegedly making unspecified threats against LAX related to the 9/11 anniversary.

Onuoha, 29, was taken into custody in Riverside late Tuesday after he allegedly made threats against LAX terminals earlier in the day, following his resignation from his post as a screener with the Transportation Security Administration.

Onuoha, an immigrant from Nigeria who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2005, was living in Inglewood at a home for U.S. veterans. Sources told to the Times that he served in the U.S. Army.

After his suspension Tuesday, Onuoha left a resignation letter and a package at the TSA’s LAX office which contained unspecified threats against the airport, a law enforcement source said. A LAPD bomb squad inspected the package and determined that it contained no explosives or harmful substances, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

The package, however, contained an eight-page letter in which Onuoha expressed his thoughts about the incident that led to his suspension and his disdain for the United States, Eimiller said.

A source familiar with the investigation told The Times that Onuoha is the same agent who was suspended after he criticized the attire of the daughter of Mark Frauenfelder, founder of the blog boingboing.

Authorities are also investigating a personal website apparently linked to Onuoha. The website published several rambling letters signed by Onuoha that include references to 9/11 and the “end of the world.”

Law enforcement officials said they had not recovered any weapons or other bomb-making materials from the suspect’s home or vehicle.

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Twitter: @lacrimes

richard.winton@latimes.com