An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to charges in what federal authorities say was a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol in support of the Islamic State group.
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He was arrested January 14, 2015, less than a week before Obama’s scheduled address in Washington, which a federal terrorism task force detective said in court Monday was Cornell’s intended timing for attack.
Cornell told WXIX-TV after his arrest that he wanted to shoot President Barack Obama in the head.
The JTTF is made up of officers and agents from the Cincinnati Police Department; Colerain, Ohio, Police Department; Dayton, Ohio, Police Department; Ohio State Highway Patrol; University of Cincinnati Police Department; U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations; FBI; U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Internal Revenue Service; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; West Chester, Ohio, Police Department; and Xenia, Ohio, Police Department.
Glassman said the case underscored the need for the public to be alert to signs of potential conversions to support of terrorist groups. “It can happen anywhere”. If she doesn’t, Cornell can withdraw his guilty plea.
The FBI first noticed Cornell several months before his arrest after an informant notified the agency that Cornell was allegedly voicing support for violent “jihad” on Twitter under the alias “Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah”, according to the federal complaint at the time of his arrest.
“Had there not been an agent or an (informant), I’ll bet you my guy would still be sitting in his room, on a keyboard, talking to anybody who would listen, and not doing anything”, Pinales said.
In an appearance in federal court in Cincinnati, Christopher Cornell, 22, shackled and dressed in black-and-white striped jail clothes, admitted to the charges of attempted murder of government officials, possession of a firearm to commit a crime and attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
“We love Christopher very, very much and he has a lot of family and friends that support him”, his father, John Cornell, said afterward.
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Beckwith a year ago appointed Pinales and Candace Crouse to represent Cornell after a federal public defender asked to withdraw from the case. Last November, the judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Cornell after his attorneys questioned his mental competence. However, Beckwith ruled in April he was competent for trial after hearing testimony.
