Man accused of plotting IS-inspired attack pleads not guilty

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A man accused of planning an Islamic State-inspired attack at a shopping and entertainment complex near Washington, D.C., pleaded not guilty on Monday to a federal criminal charge.

Rondell Henry, 28, of Germantown, Maryland, was arraigned on one count of interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle. He was indicted April 10 on the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Henry hasn’t been charged with any terrorism-related offenses since police officers arrested him March 28. He remains detained in federal custody.

Henry allegedly stole a U-Haul van in Virginia and parked it at the National Harbor, a popular waterfront destination just outside the nation’s capital. Police arrested him the next morning after they found the van and saw Henry jump over a security fence from the boat deck.

Henry told investigators he planned to carry out a truck attack similar to one in which a driver ran over and killed dozens of people in Nice, France, in 2016, authorities said.

Henry’s attorney, assistant federal public defender Christian Lassiter, declined to comment after Monday’s brief hearing. Lassiter entered the plea on behalf of his client, who answered several routine questions from a magistrate judge.

A trial date hasn’t been set, but Lassiter and a prosecutor both estimated a jury trial would last six days.