The British airline passenger accused of trying to set off explosives in his shoes has been charged with being an al-Qaeda-trained terrorist whose goal was to blow up the plane and kill those on board.
Richard Reid, 28, who converted to Islam, could get five life sentences if convicted.
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Richard Reid
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The indictment, issued yesterday by a federal grand jury in Boston, says Reid attempted to kill the 197 passengers and crew aboard a Paris-to-Miami American Airlines flight on December 22nd before he was tackled and the jet was diverted to Boston.
Reid did "attempt to use a weapon of mass destruction ... consisting of an explosive bomb placed in each of his shoes", the indictment said.
The charge said Reid "received training from al-Qaeda in Afghanistan".
In a statement, Ms Tamar Birckhead, one of Reid's court-appointed lawyers, noted that her client is considered innocent until proven guilty. She added that "the indictment does not allege that any of the crimes charged were committed on behalf of or to further the cause of al Qaida or any other terrorist organisation. We are aware of no basis for such an allegation."
A US official said Reid might be an al-Qaeda target scout and an Israeli official said it was possible Reid was gathering intelligence for large-scale terrorist attacks in Tel Aviv and other cities.
Attorney General Mr John Ashcroft said in Washington that the charges "alert us to a clear, unmistakable threat that al Qaida could attack the United States again".
"We must be prepared. We must be ready. We must be vigilant," he said.
The charges against Reid include attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted murder and attempted destruction of an aircraft. He was also charged with attempted wrecking of a mass transportation vehicle, a new charge created by the US Congress in an anti-terrorism bill enacted in the wake of the September 11th attacks.
Reid had been held since his arrest on the lesser charge of interfering with a flight crew.
AP