Blake Preston:Maine man sentenced to 15 years for mosque attack plot

2025-05-05 22:54:46source:HyperBit Exchangecategory:Invest

BANGOR,Blake Preston Maine (AP) — A 19-year-old from Maine who the FBI says built homemade explosives and plotted to attack a mosque in the name of the Islamic State group was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison.

Xavier Pelkey, of Waterville, entered an agreement with prosecutors in April in which he pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists while a second charge was dropped.

Pelkey planned to contribute firearms, ammunition and explosives for a mass shooting at a Shiite mosque in the Chicago area and possibly other houses of worship, and he was in communication with a pair of juveniles, one in Canada and one Chicago, about the plot, law enforcement officials said.

Pelkey was 18 when he was arrested by FBI agents who found three homemade explosives in his home. The devices were made of fireworks bundled with staples, pins and thumb tacks to create shrapnel, the FBI said. Investigators also found a handwritten document about the planned mosque attack, claiming it in the name of the Islamic State group.

The defense argued for a six-year prison sentence, contending Pelkey accepted responsibility, lacked a violent criminal history and was traumatized by his abusive upbringing.

More:Invest

Recommend

California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The California Department of Motor Vehicles has apologized for an “unacceptable a

Brad Pitt and Girlfriend Ines de Ramon Arrive in Style for Venice International Film Festival

Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon's fashion game is as strong as their romance.On Aug. 31, the couple arri

7 killed, dozens injured in Mississippi bus crash

Seven people were killed and dozens more were injured when a commercial bus overturned early Saturda