Abdulmutallab Indictment

The indictment is out for the man who attempted to blow up Northwest flight 253 during its descent into the Detroit airport. There are six counts: 1) Attempted use of WMD; 2) Attempted murder; 3) Attempt to destroy an aircraft; 4) Placing a destructive device on an aircraft; 5) & 6) Both are counts of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The WMD count may seem a little odd as the attack was not an attempted use of a nuke or a chem/bio weapon, but the attempted use in this case falls under the statute. You can imagine if he had succeeded that the resulting damage would have been massive. Also, a bomb is considered a firearm for the purposes of counts five and six. A life sentence in this case is basically a lock. The DoJ press release is here.