Capitol bomb plot arrest was culmination of yearlong probe; court papers reveal evolving plan The USA Times

Opening statements set in trial of Muslim soldier accused in US Fort Hood bomb plot . Jury at trial of John Edwards set to deliberate for 3rd day . Mineworkers union: 65 miners trapped underground at Zimbabwe platinum mine, 20 others rescued . Sweden's Princess Estelle baptized in royal ceremony . At halfway point of Cannes, Haneke's 'Amour' and Loach's 'The Angel's Share' among highlights . Closing arguments in US serial stabbings case as jury weighs mental health issues . Brandon Cronenberg follows in skin-crawling family tradition with Cannes movie 'Antiviral' . Houston museum unveils $85 million dinosaur hall with Triceratops skin, T. rex with full hands . Drabek gets road win and Escobar hits tiebreaking homer as Jays beat Rays 6-2 . Passenger train rams into parked freight train in southern India, killing 24, injuring dozens .

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Capitol bomb plot arrest was culmination of yearlong probe; court papers reveal evolving plan

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON - An undercover investigation into a plan to bomb the U.S. Capitol spanned more than a year and crossed multiple states before ending with an arrest.

Amine El Khalifi was arrested Friday as prosecutors say he headed to the Capitol with plans to blow himself up inside.

Authorities say El Khalifi thought he was meeting with al-Qaida associates, but it was all part of an undercover operation. Prosecutors say the weapons that were handed to him were inert.

Court papers show that El Khalifi's plans evolved over the course of the year, and the targets of the alleged attack included a restaurant and a synagogue.

His former landlord, Frank Dynda, says El Khalifi threatened to assault him after he tried to have him evicted from an Arlington, Virginia, apartment in 2010.