Ohio Man Arrested for Plan to Bomb and Kill at U.S. Capitol

A 20-year-old Cincinnati, Ohio-area man was arrested by the FBI today for a plot to attempt to attack the U.S. Capitol and kill government officials according to the Department of Justice.

Christopher Lee Cornell was taken into custody by the FBI’s Terrorism Task Force on the charges after he was implementing the final steps before he traveled to the Capitol to carry out his plan. He was arrested after purchasing two semi-automatic rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition from the Point Blank Range & Gunshop in Ohio.

Cornell had previously saved up money to finance his plan and taught himself how to make pipe bombs, which he was going to detonate at or near the U.S. Capitol. Cornell was noticed by the FBI after they received tips from an informer after posting support for violent jihad on Twitter under the name “Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah.” On Twitter, Cornell claimed to be an active member of ISIS.

Christopher Cornell planned on detonating pipe bombs and shooting U.S. officials at the U.S. Capitol.

According to the FBI, Cornell was going to detonate the pipe bombs at the capitol, then shoot the people evacuating the building.

On Twitter it is alleged that he tweeted “I believe that we should just wage jihad under our own orders and plan attacks and everything,” he continued on the social site, “I believe we should meet up and make our own group in alliance with the Islamic State here and plan operations ourselves.”

The informant met with Cornell on three occasions, twice in October, then again in November. It was during that November meeting that Cornell revealed his plot against U.S. officials in the Capitol.