A 34-year-old man described as “cold hearted” was jailed for 17 years Monday for plotting to attack a US military recruiting center with machine guns and grenades, prosecutors said Monday.
Walli Mujahidh was sentenced under a plea deal two weeks after the main plotter, a Muslim convert, was jailed for 18 years for the planned attack in the northwestern US state of Washington.
Mujahidh pleaded guilty in December 2011 to plotting with Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, described as the “lead defendant,” to attack the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) in Seattle.
Judge James L. Robart also imposed 10 years of supervised release, after Mujahidh is freed from jail.
“This defendant was a cold hearted, enthusiastic partner in this murderous scheme. He talked at length in recorded conversations about the innocent people he planned to gun down,” said US Attorney Jenny Durkan.
“Even after his arrest, he boldly tried to justify his plot. I am thankful this plot was disrupted, and again thank the FBI and Seattle Police Department,” said Durkan, from the western district of Washington.
Police were alerted to the 2011 plot when a member of the public claimed to have been approached about participating in the attack and supplying firearms to the conspirators.
Agents began monitoring Abdul-Latif and Mujahidh, recording them on audio and video “discussing a violent assault” on the Seattle military center, which screens and processes enlistees.
Prosecutors said Mujahidh made it clear he wanted to kill lots of people. “During the planning sessions for the attack, Mujahidh made clear that he was eager to kill his intended victims, and as many as possible,” they said.
“He made numerous statements along these lines while he and Abdul-Latif planned out the play-by-play movements of the attackers using the map of the Federal Center South building,” said a prosecutors’ memorandum.
Seattle gun and grenade plotter gets 17 years
