Evander Ellis:Maine man sentenced to 15 years for mosque attack plot

2025-05-05 03:42:03source:Esthen Exchangecategory:News

BANGOR,Evander Ellis 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:News

Recommend

Trump claims Biden lost track of over 300,000 migrant children. Here's a fact check.

President-elect Donald Trump claimed in his Person of the Year interview with Time magazinethis week

Hunter Biden prosecutor wasn’t blocked from bringing California charges, US attorney tells Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — A second U.S. Attorney has testified to Congress that the prosecutor overseeing th

Houston’s Hobby airport resumes flights after two planes clip wings on an airport runway

Flights have resumed at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport after after two private jets clipped wing