A New Jersey teen who attempted to provide support to terrorists in a bid to assassinate Pope Francis in 2015 during a mass in Philadelphia has pleaded guilty to recharges leveled against him, federal prosecutors said.
The suspect, Santos Colon, admitted that he made an attempt to connive with a sniper to shoot Pope Francis during a public mass. He also said that he planted explosive devices close to where the Pope visited. Santos who is 17 years told a federal court in Camden, New Jersey, during his trial.
The supposed sniper
Colon initially thought the person engaged with was a sniper but never knew that the supposed sniper was an FBI employee, prosecutors said.
The attack failed to take place and the FBI agent after that arrested Colon in 2015.
Prosecutors said that Colon engaged an FBI confidential source, unknown to him, and made an arrangement with the source for the purchase of materials that could make explosives.
The charges
Colon who is from Lindenwold, New Jersey, was accused of attempting to provide material support to aid terrorists. He faces up to fifteen years in prison if convicted.
Although, the motives for the attempted attack was not immediately known, but prosecutors said Colon had confessed that he was inspired by the Islamic State to plot the terror attack. Both prosecutors and defense attorney are yet to respond to requests sent to them for comment.
Colon may be fined $250,000 or double the amount of any financial benefit or loss from the offence. He also faces a maximum of 15 years behind the bars. A date for sentencing has not been fixed as investigation is still going on.
The historic Pope's visit
Pope Francis made a visit to Philadelphia on September 26 and 27, 2015 and held a public mass that witnessed thousands of people.
This is his biggest event ever in the United States.
The Justice Department has indicated that sentencing may take into consideration his age and other statutory matters.
ISIS began threatening the Pope since 2014; however, he has ignored the threats and has continued with normal trips worldwide.
