Trial date set in subway bomb plot

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The Pakistani-born U.S. citizen accused of plotting to bomb four Northern Virginia Metro stations will stand trial April 11 in federal court, officials said.

U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the Eastern District of Virginia ordered Farooque Ahmed, 34, held without bond after Ahmed pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday, The Washington Post reported.

Ahmed faces a maximum of 50 years in prison if convicted on charges of attempting to provide material support to terrorists and assisting in an attack on a transit facility.

Ahmed was arrested October 27 in an FBI sting operation.

FBI operatives posing as agents of al-Qaida said they received scouting reports from Ahmed.

Agents seized firearms from his Loudon County townhouse along with dozens of rounds of ammunition, four laptop computers and $8,000 in cash.

They also recovered several CDs of lectures and speeches of the American-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a major player in al-Qaida of the Arabian Peninsula.