An Ohio man who had hoped to ally himself with the Islamic State has been arrested in connection with a planned attack on the Capitol building in Washington.
Christopher Lee Cornell (20) of Green Township, near Cincinnati, was charged with attempting to kill a federal officer and with possession of a firearm with the intent to commit a violent crime.
Cornell drew the attention of the authorities during the summer after he used a Twitter account under the name Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah to express support for terrorist groups and to make threats against members of Congress, according to a criminal complaint filed in US District Court in Ohio.
In a series of conversations with an FBI informant, Cornell claimed that he was in contact with terrorist groups overseas, but said he would not wait for authorisation before waging an attack, the FBI said.
“I just believe that we should wage jihad under our own orders and plan attacks on everything,” Cornell wrote, according to the FBI. In two face-to-face meetings, Cornell told the informant that he needed weapons and wanted to “move” on his threat, the FBI said.
He said that he considered members of Congress to be enemies and that he intended to conduct an attack on the seat of the United States Congress using bombs and firearms. The FBI said plans for an attack and instructions for pipe bombs were found on Cornell’s computer.
He was arrested after buying semi-automatic rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition, officials said.