WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Cornell was detained in January 2015 after making online posts urging others to join Daesh in violent jihad against the United States. Cornell is facing some 30 years in jail.
“According to the plea agreement, from on or about August 2014 through January 2015, Cornell plotted, planned and attempted to travel to Washington, DC in order to attack the US Capitol during the State of the Union Address on January 20, 2015,” the release said.
The Justice Department noted that Cornell admitted that he searched online for weapons and the construction of bombs, as well the US Capitol and other possible targets in the Washington, DC area, and planned to kill the country’s authorities.
“The defendant admitted that his planned attack on the US Capitol was an attempt to provide material support and resources – both personnel and services – to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),” the release stated.