Terror suspect arrested near Capitol in FBI sting

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

A 29-year-old Moroccan man, who believed he was working with al-Qaida, was arrested Friday near the U.S. Capitol as he was planning to detonate what he thought was a suicide vest, given to him by undercover operatives, officials said.

Amine El Khalifi of Alexandria, Va., was taken into custody with an inoperable gun and inert explosives, according to a counterterrorism official. He arrived near the Capitol in a van with the two undercover operatives and walked toward the building, according to court papers. He was arrested before he left the parking garage.

El Khalifi made a brief appearance in federal court in Alexandria on Friday afternoon, wearing a green shirt and black pants and holding his arms together behind his back. A judge set a bail hearing for Wednesday. FBI agents in blue jackets raided a red-brick rambler home in Arlington, Va., after the arrest. A police car blocked the entrance.

A criminal complaint charges him with knowingly and unlawfully attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property that is owned and used by the United States. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

El Khalifi, who was under constant surveillance, expressed interest in killing at least 30 people and considered targeting a building in Alexandria and a restaurant, synagogue and a place where military personnel gather in Washington before he settled on the Capitol after canvassing that area a couple of times, the counterterrorism official said. During the investigation, El Khalifi went with undercover operatives to a quarry in West Virginia in January to practice detonating explosives, according to court documents.

He believed he was working with an al-Qaida operative on the plot, according to an affidavit.

El Khalifi came to the U.S. when he was 16 years old and is unemployed and not believed to be associated with al-Qaida. He had been under investigation for about a year and had overstayed his visitor visa, which expired in 1999, making him in the country illegally, according to court documents.