COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 12 (UPI) -- An Ohio man was charged Thursday with joining al-Qaida, getting terrorist training and planning to attack targets inside the United States in the 1990s.
A U.S. magistrate ordered Christopher Paul held pending another hearing Friday, the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported. Paul was arrested Wednesday after a four-year investigation that FBI agent Tim Murphy said involved eight countries.
The investigation began in 2003 when Iyman Faris, a truck driver serving a 20-year prison term, told the FBI that he, Paul and another man discussed possible activities.
During searches of Paul's apartment in Columbus and his father's home in Worthington, investigators allegedly found computer scanners, a laser range finder, night-vision scopes, a global positioning-system watch, bomb-making guides, a remote-control boat and other items that could be used in terrorist attacks, the Dispatch said. First Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hunt said all the seized items can be legally owned.
Paul, who has changed his name twice as an adult, was also said to have passports in several names, the newspaper said.
