Finton told the undercover agent in July that he was planning attacks on government buildings, banks and police stations to force the US to withdraw from Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. He further told the undercover agent that he planned to use a backpack bomb or explosive-laden vehicle to blow up the federal building in Springfield.

A month later in August, the agent tricked Finton by telling him that his terror plan had been okayed by Al Qaeda bosses and he should prepare a videotaped message to be shown to Osama bin Laden and others.

Finton, who made statements acknowledging he knew everyone in the Paul Findley Federal Building would be killed, allegedly met up with the agent on Wednesday, believing he would be carrying out a mass-casualty bomb attack against the building.

The agent helped Finton load a dummy bomb into a van. The man drove it and parked it near the court building.

As he was making a cell phone call that was supposedly to set off the blast, Finton was arrested by the FBI.