Vice President Joe Biden (top left) and Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner sit behind President Barack Obama as he delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress and the American people in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2015. Monday, Ohio terror suspect Christopher Cornell pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a plot to attack the Capitol and Obama during the 2015 State of the Union address. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI |
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CINCINNATI, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- An Ohio man arrested 18 months ago on suspicion of planning to bomb the U.S. Capitol and assassinate President Barack Obama pleaded guilty Monday to terrorism charges that will put him in prison for decades -- but likely avert a life sentence.
Christopher Lee Cornell formally accepted a plea bargain from prosecutors during a hearing in Cincinnati on Monday by pleading guilty to charges of attempted murder of government officials, weapons offenses, and attempting to support a terrorist organization.
As part of the agreement, Cornell faces between five and 30 years in federal prison. He will be sentenced Oct. 31. He previously faced a life sentence.
The judge must adhere to the sentencing terms of the agreement. If she doesn't, Cornell can withdraw his guilty plea.
Cornell was arrested in January 2015 after purchasing weapons and ammunition and saying he wanted to "wage jihad" in support of the Islamic State.
The FBI said in its investigation that Cornell planned to pipe bomb the Capitol during Obama's State of the Union address in January 2015.
After he was arrested, Cornell told a Cincinnati television station that he intended to assassinate Obama during the assault.
"I would have released more bullets on the Senate and House of Representative members and I would have attacked the Israeli Embassy and various other buildings," Cornell said in a phone call to the newsroom of Cincinnati's WXIX-TV two months after his arrest.
Defense attorneys had argued that Cornell, who underwent multiple psychological evaluations, would not have really attempted to carry out the plot.
Video: WCPO-TV Cincinnati
