WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man who plotted a suicide bomb attack aimed at causing “maximum carnage” at a Wichita airport has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Terry L. Loewen apologized Monday during his sentencing to his family for the pain he had caused them.
The 60-year-old Wichita man pleaded guilty in June to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. U.S. District Judge Monti Belot imposed the proposed sentence that came with the plea deal.
The avionics technician was arrested during an undercover operation in December 2013 when he tried to bring a van filled with inert explosives onto the tarmac at Mid-Continent Airport.
He came to the FBI’s attention when he became a Facebook friend of an individual who regularly posted information supporting violent jihad, or holy war.
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man who plotted a suicide bomb attack at a Wichita airport is expected to get 20 years in prison under the terms of a plea deal.
Terry L. Loewen pleaded guilty in June to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. The 60-year-old Wichita man will return to federal court Monday for sentencing. If the judge rejects the proposed sentence, Loewen will be allowed to withdraw his plea.
The avionics technician was arrested during an undercover FBI operation in December 2013 when he tried to bring a van filled with inert explosives onto the tarmac at Mid-Continent Airport.
The FBI said he was Facebook friend of an individual who regularly posted information supporting violent jihad, or holy war.
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U.S. District Judge Monti Belot is scheduled to sentence Terry L. Loewen on Monday.
The 60-year-old man pleaded guilty in June to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. He struck a deal with prosecutors for a 20-year sentence that the judge has said he’s “almost certain” to impose.
The former avionics technician was arrested in 2013 while trying to bring a van filled with inert explosives onto the tarmac at what was then called Mid-Continent Airport.
The Center on National Security at Fordham Law School says Loewen’s case is among 462 terror prosecutions associated with groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.