Ohio Muslim convert, 20, arrested for plotting ISIS-inspired pipe-bomb attack on the US Capitol

Ohio Muslim convert, 20, arrested for plotting ISIS-inspired pipe-bomb attack on the US Capitol as suspect's father says he was a loner 'Mama's boy'

Christopher Lee Cornell, also known as Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah, charged with attempting to kill a government official
FBI says Cornell has been writing online in support of ISIS and violent 'jihad'
Cornell allegedly planned to blow up pipe bombs in the Capitol and open fire on fleeing government employees sometime in December 2015
Cornell told FBI informant he considered members of Congress to be his enemies
Cornell's father called his terror-suspect son 'Mama's boy' and claimed that he first became interested in Islam only two months ago

By Snejana Farberov for MailOnline
Published: 22:11 GMT, 14 January 2015 | Updated: 06:52 GMT, 15 January 2015

The FBI today arrested a 20-year-old radicalized Muslim convert from Ohio for allegedly plotting to carry out a terrorist attack on the US Capitol.

Christopher Lee Cornell, of Green Township, was taken into custody by federal agents on charges of attempting to kill a government official and possession of a firearm in furtherance of attempted crime of violence, according to a criminal complaint.  

Government documents filed in the case indicate that the 20-year-old Cornell, who also goes by the name Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah, allegedly planned to detonate pipe bombs in the Capitol and then open fire on people fleeing the building in the aftermath of the blasts.


Plot foiled: Christopher Lee Cornell, a 20-year-old Ohio man, has been charged with plotting to carry out a terrorist attack on the US Capitol in Washington DC. This image shows what appears to be Cornell's arrest Wednesday

According to government documents, Cornell first showed up on the FBI's radar several months ago after he sent out a tweet in support of violent 'jihad.'

An investigation into Cornell's activities has revealed videos and other online statements backing the deadly extremist organization ISIS, also known as ISIL or Islamic State.


First picture: Cornell, who also goes by the name Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah, is pictured here in a booking photo released by Butler County Sheriff's Office Wednesday night

According to the FBI, the 20-year-old also exchanged messages with an undercover federal informant about his desire to launch Islamic State-style attacks on US soil.

'I believe that we should just wage jihad under our own orders and plan attacks and everything,' Cornell allegedly wrote in August. 'I believe we should meet up and make our own group in alliance with the Islamic State here and plan operations ourselves.'

In instant messages to the undercover informant, Cornell indicated that while he did not have support to conduct an attack on behalf of any group, 'we already got a thumbs up from the Brothers over there and Anwar al Awlaki before his martyrdom and many others.'

Awlaki, an American-born radical imam, was killed in a US drone strike in Yemen in 2011.

The Islamic State militant organization, which broke with the al-Qaida network and took control of large parts of Iraq and Syria, has drawn jihadi fighters from across the Muslim world and Europe. It has been blamed for violence such as the beheadings of foreign captives including a former U.S. soldier turned aid worker and two American journalists.

Government officials say Cornell’s suspected terror plot was in the early stages of development; he planned to carry out an attack in December 2015.

The FBI says the public was never in danger and he never made it to Washington.

Cornell's arrest early Wednesday morning came at the Point Blank store where he allegedly purchased a pair of M-15 semi-automatic rifles.