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Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty To Plot To Kill Barack Obama
BBC NEWS, US & CANADA
February 10, 2012: An Uzbek man has admitted at a court in the US state of Alabama to plotting to kill US President Barack Obama.
Ulugbek Kodirov, 22 arrested at a motel in the state last July, could face 30 years in jail. Kodirov was charged with threatening to kill the president, possessing an automatic weapon and providing material support to terrorists.
Authorities say he was in the US illegally after he received a student visa but never enrolled at school.
According to the plea agreement, in July 2011 Kodirov came into communication with someone known as "the Emir", who he believed was a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. That group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the US state department.
Kodirov and "the Emir" discussed ways in which the president could be killed, including by sniper rifle from long distance. Kodirov rejected that option because he thought a sniper rifle cost too much and was not trained to use one. Instead he plotted to shoot at the president at closer range.
The plea deal says: "Kodirov said that he did not care if he got shot and killed, as long as he killed President Obama."
The Uzbek's defense lawyers said the accused was likely to receive a lighter sentence on account of the plea deal.
Kodirov was arrested in July 2011 after he bought an automatic weapon from an undercover agent for the US government, and has been held without bail since then.
