An Ashburn man who federal prosecutors said plotted to “kill as many Americans as possible” by bombing Washington Metro stations was sentenced Monday to 23 years in prison.
Farooque Ahmed, 35, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, pleaded guilty to two terrorism-related charges in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Federal authorities said Ahmed conspired with people he thought were al-Qaeda operatives to bomb Metrorail stations at Arlington Cemetery, Pentagon City, Crystal City and Court House. In reality, he was dealing with people working for the U.S. government.
According to court documents, Ahmed “surveilled, photographed, videotaped, diagramed” and helped gather information to plan “multiple bombings to cause mass casualties” at Metrorail stations.
