Jury selection to begin for Saudi in US bomb plot


June 21, 2012 at 10:51a.m.

Jury selection to begin for Saudi in US bomb plot

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Jury selection is set to begin today in the federal trial of a Saudi man accused of gathering bomb components with the intention of targeting sites across the U.S. including former President George W. Bush’s Dallas home.

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 22, a former Texas Tech University chemical engineering student, faces up to life in prison if convicted of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

Prior to Aldawsari’s Feb. 23, 2011, arrest, federal agents secretly searched his West Texas apartment, where they say they found bomb-making chemicals as well as beakers, flasks, wiring, a hazmat suit and clocks.

He has pleaded not guilty. Court records show attorneys plan to use an insanity defense.