A news conference is scheduled for 10AM EDT.
UPDATE:
We have names and the kind of terrorism that the men sought to engage in:
Tariq Mehanna, 27, is facing charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Authorities allege he conspired with Ahmad Abousamra and others to provide material support to terrorists, US Attorney Michael Loucks and Boston FBI chief Warren Bamford said in a statement.UPDATE:
Mehanna and co-conspirators allegedly had multiple conversations about obtaining automatic weapons and shooting people in a shoopping mall, including discussions of the logistics of the mall attacks, and possible attacks on emergency responders.
Still more details coming out about Mehanna and his cohorts, including the fact that Mehanna was known to law enforcement before today's revelations:
Mehanna had "multiple conversations about obtaining automatic weapons and randomly shooting people in shopping malls," Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Loucks said. Their plan was thwarted when they could only get handguns, not automatic weapons, he said.
Prosecutors would not say which malls had been targeted. They also allegedly hoped to attack U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.
Mehanna's attorney, J.W. Carney Jr., did not immediately return calls for comment.
Mehanna, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in November and charged with lying to the FBI in December 2006 when asked about the whereabouts of Daniel Maldonado, who is now serving a 10-year prison sentence for training alongside al-Qaida members to overthrow the Somali government.
Mehanna told the FBI that Maldonado was living in Egypt and working for a Web site. But authorities said Maldonado had called Mehanna from Somalia urging him to join him in "training for jihad."
Authorities said Wednesday that Mehanna and his conspirators had contacted Maldonado about getting automatic weapons for their planned mall attacks.
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