Boston — Richard Colvin Reid, the third alleged al-Qaida operative to be charged with terrorist crimes by U.S. prosecutors since Sept. 11, pleaded innocent Friday to federal charges alleging he tried to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives in his shoes.
Authorities say he learned the technique, which could have blown a hole in the plane's fuselage and ignited its fuel tanks, in terrorist training camps run by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.
Reid, a 28-year-old British citizen, appeared here Friday in U.S. District Court, unshaven and shackled. Bowing his head and appearing expressionless, he spoke only to acknowledge the charges and enter his plea.
In a soft voice, he answered "not guilty" to eight of the nine charges in an 11-page indictment, including trying to murder the 197 passengers and crew members aboard American Airlines Flight 63 on Dec. 22, trying to use a weapon of mass destruction and placing an explosive device on an aircraft.
Defense attorneys challenged the ninth charge attempted wrecking of a mass transportation vehicle and asked Magistrate Judge Judith Dein to enter a "not guilty" plea on Reid's behalf, which she did.
If convicted, Reid faces a maximum sentence of five life terms in prison. He remains in federal custody pending trial, with the next court date scheduled for March 4.
Flight attendants and passengers overpowered Reid on the Paris-to-Miami flight after he was spied allegedly trying to ignite a fuse protruding from his shoe. The flight was diverted to Boston, where the case is being prosecuted, and he was initially charged with interfering with a flight crew.
Reid's attorney, public defender Tamar Birckhead, said in a statement that the indictment, which was handed up Wednesday by a federal grand jury, does not allege that any of the crimes were committed "on behalf of, or to further the cause of, al-Qaida or any other terrorist organization."
Besides Reid, American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, charged Tuesday by federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Va., faces possible life imprisonment for allegedly conspiring to kill U.S. nationals in Afghanistan.
In addition, Zacarias Moussaoui, 33, faces charges in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. He is charged with six counts of conspiracy in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.