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Christopher Cornell, 20, of Cincinnati researched the
construction of pipe bombs, purchased a semi-automatic rifle and
600 rounds of ammunition and made plans to travel to Washington
to carry out the plot, according to an FBI informant's legal
testimony.
Court documents showed that Cornell indicated on Twitter that he
supported the Islamic State group under the alias Raheel Mahrus
Ubaydah.
According to the documents, in instant messages to the
undercover FBI informant, Cornell indicated that while he did
not have support to conduct an attack on behalf of any group,
"we already got a thumbs up from the Brothers over there and
Anwar al Awlaki before his martyrdom and many others." Awlaki
was killed by the United States in Yemen in 2011.
In a November meeting with the informant, Cornell said he
considered members of Congress to be his enemies, and he
outlined a plan to place pipe bombs at and near the U.S. Capitol
and use firearms to kill employees and officials inside,
according to the documents.
The suspect's father, John Cornell, told CNN he thought his son
"was coerced into a lot of this."
"There is no way he could have carried out any kind of terrorist
plot," John Cornell said.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge
John Barrios noted that the public was not in danger during this
investigation.
Ohio U.S. Republican Senator Rob Portman praised the FBI and
other law enforcement agencies for their work "to thwart this
potential terrorist act. It is an important reminder of the very
real threat that radical Islam continues to pose to the
homeland.”
The U.S. Capitol Police said they had worked with the FBI on the
case.
Cornell has been charged in a federal court in Ohio with
attempting to kill a U.S. government officer and possession of a
firearm in furtherance of an attempted crime of violence.
(Reporting By Julia Edwards; Additional reporting by Richard
Cowan; Editing by Bill Trott, Peter Cooney, Toni Reinhold)
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