A Moroccan man who allegedly believed he was working with al-Qaida has been charged with an attempted suicide bombing of the US Congress.
FBI agents arrested Amine El Khalifi, of Alexandria, Virginia, near Capitol Hill on Friday. He was wearing what agents had told him was an explosive vest.
He was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against US property, intending to detonate a bomb and to shoot people, according to the US justice department. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A judge set a bail hearing for Wednesday.
Khalifi, 29, told acquaintances in January 2011 that he agreed the "war on terrorism" was a "war on Muslims" and that they needed to be ready for war, according to the affidavit.
He was wearing the vest and carrying a gun that did not work when he was taken into custody.
He arrived near the Capitol in a van with the two undercover FBI agents, and walked toward the building, according to court papers. He was arrested before he left the parking garage.
Khalifi, who was under constant surveillance, expressed interest in killing at least 30 people and had also considered targeting a building in Alexandria and a restaurant, synagogue and a place where military personnel gather in Washington, according to a counterterrorism official.
During the investigation, he went with undercover agents in January to a quarry in West Virginia to practice detonating explosives, according to court documents.
He believed he was working with an al-Qaida operative on the plot, an affidavit says.
Khalifi, an illegal immigrant who is not believed to be linked to al-Qaida, had been under investigation for about a year.
After he decided to bomb Capitol Hill, the court documents say, Khalifi told the undercover agents that he wanted to know whether he had enough explosives to destroy a whole building.
Khalifi is also said to have met with an undercover law enforcement officer who gave him an automatic weapon that did not work.
Two people briefed on the matter told Associated Press the FBI has had him under surveillance around the clock for several weeks.
Police are close to arresting one of Khalifi's associates the counterterrorism official said, but not on charges related to terrorist conspiracy.
The associate was said to also be a Moroccan, living in the US illegally. Police are also investigating others Khalifi associated with, but not in connection with a terrorist conspiracy, the official added.