30 years for attempted Capitol attack

• Tweet

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A man attempting a suicide attack on the U.S. Capitol as part of a terrorist operation was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison, officials said.

Amine Mohamed El-Khalifi, 29, an Alexandria, Va., resident, pleaded guilty in May to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, a U.S. Department of Justice statement said.

His plan was foiled by an undercover agent of the FBI, who joined his plot in December 2011, court documents said.

He was arrested in February as he attempted to enter the Capitol with a machine gun and a bomb carried in his vest, unaware both weapons were rendered inoperable by the FBI, the Justice Department statement said.