Multiple sources tell Fox News that less than a year before the Benghazi attack, the United States consulate warned the State Department that a militia group rented a space next door.
Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed duirng the September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya.
Fox News’ Adam Housley reported that within three weeks of the U.S. renting the compound, a group aligned with Ansar al-Sharia – the terror organization believed to be behind the attack – moved in nearby.
An intelligence source told Fox News, “We warned D.C. about the guys who moved in next door, but nobody knew what to do and nothing was done.”
Additionally, Housley said some of the sources asked for sandbags and a belt-fed machine gun to help increase security, but they were supposedly told it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing and would upset the neighbors.
“It’s part of this administration’s pattern of ignoring anyone but Al Qaeda. Not realizing that there are other terrorist groups, there are other Islamist jihadists. And allowing them to rent a building next to a U.S. diplomatic property and not doing anything about it is, again, just negligence,” former State Department official Christian Whiton said.
On Monday, the State Department called Fox News’ report “dubious.” However, today Housley was informed by the department that there was a request for a belt-fed machine gun, but that they hadn’t made a decision on it yet.
Housley also learned shocking details about a local militia that the U.S. contracted with for security on the night of the attack.
“We actually hired a local militia to provide security. Some people call this the worst outsourcing of all time,” he reported.
The leader of the militia allegedly left Benghazi on September 12, while the consulate and annex were burning.
