<p>So far, they say, he seems to have acted alone. “He was taking steps by himself, and it appeared that he intended to detonate the bombs on his own in the United States,” said Robert E Casey Jr, the FBI special agent in charge of the Dallas field office. “This was a close call.”<br /><br />Dressed in a blue prison jumpsuit and surrounded by marshals, the student, Khalid Aldawsari, shuffled into federal court on Friday morning in handcuffs and shackles to listen to Magistrate Judge Nancy M Koenig read the charge against him. He is charged with one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a penalty of life in prison.<br /><br />He stood and answered “yes” after the judge asked him if he understood the charge and if he knew that any statements he made could be used against him. The judge ordered him to remain in custody until March 11, when she would hold a preliminary hearing on the evidence and make a decision about bail.<br /><br />Aldawsari did not enter a plea, but his lawyer, Rod Hobson, said he would plead not guilty once an indictment was filed. He told reporters that the news coverage of Aldawsari’s arrest had been one-sided and said that it might not be possible for him to receive a fair trial in Lubbock.<br /><br />“This is not Alice in Wonderland, where the Queen said ‘first the punishment then the trial, ” Hobson said in a statement. “This is America, where everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence.”</p>
<p>So far, they say, he seems to have acted alone. “He was taking steps by himself, and it appeared that he intended to detonate the bombs on his own in the United States,” said Robert E Casey Jr, the FBI special agent in charge of the Dallas field office. “This was a close call.”<br /><br />Dressed in a blue prison jumpsuit and surrounded by marshals, the student, Khalid Aldawsari, shuffled into federal court on Friday morning in handcuffs and shackles to listen to Magistrate Judge Nancy M Koenig read the charge against him. He is charged with one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a penalty of life in prison.<br /><br />He stood and answered “yes” after the judge asked him if he understood the charge and if he knew that any statements he made could be used against him. The judge ordered him to remain in custody until March 11, when she would hold a preliminary hearing on the evidence and make a decision about bail.<br /><br />Aldawsari did not enter a plea, but his lawyer, Rod Hobson, said he would plead not guilty once an indictment was filed. He told reporters that the news coverage of Aldawsari’s arrest had been one-sided and said that it might not be possible for him to receive a fair trial in Lubbock.<br /><br />“This is not Alice in Wonderland, where the Queen said ‘first the punishment then the trial, ” Hobson said in a statement. “This is America, where everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence.”</p>