ALEXANDRIA -- A Virginia man charged with plotting a suicide bombing inside the U.S. Capitol has waived his rights to preliminary and detention hearings.
Amine El Khalifi of Alexandria was arrested Friday and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. On Wednesday afternoon, he was ordered held pending indictment. Court documents say El Khalifi is a native of Morocco who has been living illegally in the U.S. for more than a decade.
Authorities say the 29-year-old discussed plans to attack an Alexandria office building and a synagogue with an undercover FBI operative he thought was a member of al-Qaida.
Later, El Khalifi allegedly volunteered to wear a suicide vest and to kill himself in a martyrdom operation at the Capitol. His arrest came after a lengthy FBI investigation.
