Former student sentenced in terror plot

AMARILLO, Texas -- A former Texas college student from Saudi Arabia was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for trying to make a bomb for use in a religious attack, possibly targeting a former U.S. president.

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari was sentenced in Amarillo, where jurors convicted him in June of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors say he had collected bomb-making material in his apartment and researched possible targets, including the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush.

Although the 22-year-old Aldawsari apologized Tuesday for "these bad actions," Judge Donald E. Walter said the evidence against him was overwhelming.

Aldawsari came to the United States legally in 2008 to study chemical engineering. He was arrested in Lubbock in February 2011, after federal agents searched his apartment and found explosive chemicals, wiring, a hazmat suit and clocks, along with videos showing how to make the chemical explosive TNP.

Investigators say Aldawsari's goal was to carry out jihad. His attorneys claimed he was a harmless failure who never came close to attacking anyone.

-- AP