Had Wanted To Try Damage Either The U.S. Capital Or The Pentagon

After pleading guilty in July to charges of attempting to provide material support to terrorists and attempting to damage and destroy federal buildings with explosives, Massachusetts resident Rezwan Ferdaus, 27, has been sentenced to 17 years in a federal prison. His plot would have delivered explosives to the U.S. Capitol or the Pentagon aboard a model airplane.

Weapons such as grenades, machine guns, and plastic explosives were delivered to Ferdaus by federal agents posing as members of al Qaeda. Because the explosives and weapons were always under the control of those agents, the  public was never in any danger, authorities said.

Those familiar with the plot and model airplanes have said that it would have been virtually impossible to deliver enough explosives using a model plane to substantially damage either one of those buildings.

CBS News reports both the prosecution and the defense agreed to the 17-year sentence. Ferdaus' lawyer said that he was being treated for depression and anxiety a month before he was arrested. Ferdaus' mother told reporters after the sentencing that her son was innocent, and that they should "go investigate your government." Ferdaus will reportedly have his sentence reduced by 13 months, the time he has spent in prison awaiting trial.

(DOJ image of Ferdaus' model airplane)

FMI: www.mad.uscourts.gov