WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — 60-year-old Loewen pleaded guilty in June to one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
“Terry Loewen abused his privileged airport access to attempt to perpetrate a terrorist attack in Wichita,” Assistant Attorney General John Carlin said in the statement on Monday.
According to the guilty plea, Loewen admitted to becoming friends with a person on a jihadist Facebook website, where he first came to the attention of the FBI.
Undercover FBI agents began communicating with Loewen, who worked at the Wichita airport, during which time he expressed his desire to carry out a terrorist attack.
Loewen then proceeded with the undercover FBI agent to assemble an inactive bomb before being arrested while trying to use his employee badge to enter the airport and carry out an attack.
Loewen admitted he had been inspired by the teachings of former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and the American cleric Anwar Al Awlaki, who was killed in an American drone strike in Yemen.
