Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is seen in a mug shot released by the U.S. Marshals Service on December 28, 2009. Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate a bomb attached to his body on Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit on December 25. He was overpowered by passengers and crew before setting off the explosive device. UPI/U.S. Marshals |
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DETROIT, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a transcontinental airliner over Detroit was called a terrorist Thursday and arraigned on a charge of conspiracy.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 24, was arraigned before U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds. He was charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism in the alleged Christmas Day 2009 attempt to kill the nearly 300 people aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 by setting off a chemical explosive hidden in his underpants as the plane descended toward Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport after flying from Amsterdam.
The new count, indicating prosecutors allege he did not act alone, adds to Abdulmutallab's other charges, which include attempted murder inside an aircraft, taking a bomb on a plane and trying to use of a weapon of mass destruction on the flight.
The latest charge, which officially accuses Abdulmutallab of a terrorist act, carries a penalty of up to life in prison.
The charge was added Wednesday by federal prosecutors who said their action stemmed from new federal grand jury findings. They didn't offer other details.
Abdulmutallab stood silently before Edmunds as the charges were read, The Detroit News reported. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf. Abdulmutallab's alleged attempt to set off the chemical bomb ignited a political debate about whether he should be charged as a civilian or as an enemy combatant.
Officials said Abdulmutallab, a college student and son of a wealthy Nigerian banker, told them he had obtained the explosive chemicals and a syringe that were sewn into his underwear from a bomb expert in Yemen associated with al-Qaida.
