Amine El Khalifi pleads guilty to attempting to bomb US Capitol

A Moroccan man accused of planning to bomb the US Capitol pleaded guilty on Friday to the charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction on government property, according to CNN.

Amine El Khalifi, 29, agreed to a prison sentence of a maximum of 25 to 30 years in a plea agreement, said CNN. A conviction could have carried a sentence of life in prison.

In February, Khalifi was arrested near the Capitol in an FBI sting operation with what he thought was a loaded handgun and an explosive-laden vest, according to Bloomberg. Both were provided by undercover law enforcement officers, according to court documents, and were inoperable.

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US attorney Neil H. MacBride said, "It was Mr. Khalifi at every step that was identifying targets and means to carry out the attacks," according to The Washington Post.

Khalifi had been living illegally in the US for more than a decade after his visa expired, according to the Associated Press.

Prosecutors said that Khalifi had revealed his intention of killing Americans to an undercover FBI operative. He allegedly spoke of wanting to attack a synagogue and killing Army generals before deciding on the plan to suicide bomb the Capitol, the AP reported.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for the US attorney's office, said that prosecutors would be seeking a 30-year sentence at a hearing to be held on Sept. 14.

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