US Man to Plead Guilty in Plot to Attack Pentagon, Capitol

Posted July 10th, 2012 at 12:35 pm (UTC-5)
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A U.S. man charged with plotting to use remote-controlled model airplanes filled with explosives to attack the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol has agreed to plead guilty.

A Justice Department statement says 26-year-old Rezwan Ferdaus will enter the plea on charges he attempted to damage and destroy a federal building and provide material support to terrorists. In exchange, the government will dismiss the remaining four charges against him.

The plea agreement was filed Tuesday in federal court in the northeastern U.S. city of Boston. As part of the deal, prosecutors and defense attorneys are requesting a 17-year prison sentence.

Ferdaus, a Muslim-American with a physics degree from Boston's Northeastern University, was arrested in September after an FBI operation, which saw him request and accept explosives and firearms from undercover agents posing as al-Qaida members. Investigators say the public was never in any danger from the explosives.

Officials say Ferdaus began planning a “jihad,” or holy war, against the United States in early 2010. They say he envisioned causing a large psychological impact by killing Americans, including women and children, whom he referred to as “enemies of Allah.”