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A Maryland man pleaded guilty on Thursday for the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in connection with a terrorist plot to blow up a military recruiting center in Catonsville, Md., according to an FBI statement.
Antonio Benjamin Martinez, a 22-year-old man who changed his name to Muhammad Hussain, entered his plea on the charges and could be sentenced to 25 years in prison, the statement said. His sentencing is set for April.
Martinez was arrested late in 2010 for trying to detonate a fake device that was given to him by undercover FBI agents who were tracking his movements at the time, according to the statement. Martinez believed that the device was an actual explosive.
Martinez, in a taped conversation with an undercover agent, said he believed the United States was engaging in a war with Muslims, adding that he wanted “to commit jihad to send a message that American soldiers would be killed,” the FBI statement reads.