Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, an American citizen, and at least 10 unidentified co-conspirators allegedly planned in 2002 and 2003 to kill Bush either by shooting him or by detonating a car bomb, according to an indictment released during a hearing before a U.S. magistrate judge in Alexandria, Va. The six-count indictment also alleges that Abu Ali and one of the co-conspirators discussed ways he could conduct a terrorist operation and establish an al-Qaida cell in the United States.According to U.S. officials, Abu Ali was arrested June 9, 2003, in Medina, Saudi Arabia, during a crackdown by Saudi authorities on alleged terrorist cells blamed for the bombings a month earlier that killed 34, including nine Americans, in three residential compounds in Riyadh. He was detained in a Saudi prison and was flown to Washington Dulles International Airport only hours before Tuesday's hearing in U.S. District Court. He is scheduled to appear in court again Thursday.
Abu Ali is charged with providing material support and resources to al-Qaida, providing material support to terrorists, contributing services to al-Qaida, receiving funds and services from al-Qaida, and two counts of conspiracy. If convicted on all charges, he could be sentenced to up to 80 years in prison. According to the grand jury indictment, items found at Abu Ali's home in Falls Church a week after his arrest included a six-page document on how to avoid government and private surveillance, a document praising the Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and the terror attacks on New York and the Pentagon, a copy of Handguns magazine with the name "Ahmed Ali" on the subscription label, audio tapes promoting violent holy war and the killing of Jews, and a book by Al Qaeda deputy Ayman Al Zawahiri criticizing democracy.