Federal authorities today (February 17, 2012) arrested and charged a Virginia man on his way to the U.S. Capitol for what he thought would be a suicide attack on one of the nation's most symbolic landmarks, according to the Fox News website.
The man -- a Moroccan citizen who has lived in the United States for over a dozen years -- was identified as Amine El Khalifi, 29. He was nabbed following a lengthy investigation by the FBI, after he expressed interest in conducting an attack.
The suspect has been in the U.S. illegally since 1999. He entered the U.S. that year on a tourist visa, which expired and was never renewed.
The man thought undercover FBI agents assisting him in his plot were associates of Al Qaeda. He was arrested today while carrying a vest that he had been led to believe was packed with explosives, but the material inside the vest was not dangerous.
