US Soldier Charged in Connection with Planned Attack

Posted July 29th, 2011 at 2:00 pm (UTC-5)
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A U.S. soldier arrested after bomb-making material was found in his motel room shouted defiantly following his first court appearance.

Federal prosecutors Friday charged Private Nasser Jason Abdo with possessing an illegal firearm. Charging documents say Abdo also had ammunition, gunpowder, clocks, wires and an article titled, “Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom.”

The complaint alleges the 21-year-old Abdo intended to build two bombs and set them off at a restaurant popular with soldiers stationed at Fort Hood, an army base that was the scene of a 2009 shooting that that killed 13 people and wounded 32 others.

On his way out of the courtroom, Abdo yelled the name of Major Nidal Hasan and then shouted “Fort Hood 2009.”

Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist, is standing trial in military court for the 2009 incident and faces the death penalty if convicted.

Abdo was arrested Wednesday in Killeen, Texas, after authorities received a tip. Local police said Abdo seemed close to carrying out an attack on Fort Hood and described it as a “terror plot.”

They also said it appeared Abdo was acting alone.

The U.S. Army granted Abdo conscientious objector status to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in June, after Abdo had said being in the Army was not compatible with his Muslim faith. Officials said the designation had been put on hold after officials charged Abdo with having child pornography on his computer.

Abdo then disappeared from his assigned base, Fort Campbell, in the eastern state of Kentucky, on July 4 and had been missing until the time of his arrest.

Abdo currently faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.