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Moroccan man is sentenced to 30 years for Capitol terror plot
A Moroccan man was sentenced on Friday by a federal judge to 30 years in prison for attempting to blow up the Capitol.
Amine El-Khalifi, a 29-year-old Virginia resident, pleaded guilty to his role in attempting to carry out a terrorist attack, in which he plotted to shoot people on the Capitol grounds with an automatic pistol while wearing a vest with a bomb strapped to his chest.
“Amine El-Khalifi sought to bring down the U.S. Capitol, one of our nation’s iconic symbols,” said U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride in a statement following the sentencing.
The FBI has conducted dozens of these “sting” operations throughout the country, where agents provide suspected terrorists with the financial means and weaponry to carry out an attack, but stop them before any harm is done. This was the first such thwarted attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Since 9/11, our mission has been to find terrorists intent on attacking the United States before they act,” said MacBride. “On his own initiative, a man living right here in Alexandria selected the target and date of his suicide attack, and engaged in surveillance to ensure that his attack caused maximum casualties. Thanks to the steadfast work of the FBI, undercover officers were in position to ensure that Mr. El-Khalifi’s murderous plot failed.”
In the lead up to his ultimate arrest, El-Khalifi had undercover law enforcement officials, whom he believed to be associated with the terrorist group al Qaeda, detonate a bomb in a West Virginia quarry. It was carried out as a demonstration of the explosion that would be caused by the bomb El-Khalifi was planning to wear on the Capitol grounds, according to court documents.
El-Khalifi, who had worked at various clothing stores in the Washington, D.C., area, over the course of several months suggested attacking a synagogue, U.S. Army generals, a restaurant frequented by military officials and a building that housed U.S. military offices.
After his release from prison, El-Khalifi is expected to be deported back to his home country of Morocco.
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