A Somali-American teen is charged with trying to bomb a Christmas ceremony in Portland, Oregon, on Friday as an act of jihad (Muslim religious war).
The charges say Mohamed Osman Mohamud planned to set off a car bomb at a gathering where a Christmas tree would be lit up for the holidays.
Mohamud is 19. He was born in Somalia and later became an American citizen. FBI agents say he told them he started thinking of violent jihad when he was 15.
In 2009, the charges say, Mohamud began emailing a man in Pakistan about joining in jihad. FBI agents, posing as jihadis, got in touch with Mohamud. They say he asked them to help him plan an explosion.
The agents say they helped Mohamud build a fake bomb and "set it off". Then they arrested him.
The FBI agents say they gave Mohamud chances to drop his plans. They reminded him there would be many children at the ceremony. They said they would not look down on him if he changed his mind. But, they say, Mohamud said he wanted to attack people who were spending the holidays with their families.
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