Man pleads guilty in plot to kill Obama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A man from Uzbekistan pleaded guilty Friday to plotting with an Islamic terror organization in his home country to kill President Barack Obama with an automatic rifle he bought from an undercover federal agent in Alabama.

Authorities said Ulugbek Kodirov had discussed trying to kill the president as he campaigned for re-election because he would be out in public more often.

Kodirov entered the plea during a hearing in Birmingham before U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon, an Obama appointee.

Defense attorney Lance Bell said Kodirov, 22, avoided a potential life sentence by pleading guilty. He faces up to 30 years in prison, though Bell said he expected Kodirov to receive about half that. The judge also told Kodirov that he will face deportation once he's released from prison.

Kodirov pleaded guilty to three counts: threatening to kill the president, possessing an automatic weapon and providing material support to terrorists. Four other charges were dropped as part of the deal.

The plea agreement says that in July Kodirov began communicating with a person known as "the Emir." Kodirov said the person was a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the State Department.

The Emir "asked Kodirov if there was anything Kodirov could do about President Obama since Kodirov was closer geographically to the president than the Emir." Kodirov and the person discussed ways to kill Obama, including from a distance using a sniper rifle.

On July 11, after Kodirov and a friend in Birmingham who spoke Uzbek went to a mosque to pray, Kodirov asked his friend to buy a gun for him so he could kill Obama.

Kodirov, arrested in July, was accused of making four separate threats against Obama within a five-day period when he was meeting either with a witness who went to police or an undercover officer.

A complaint said Kodirov contacted an unidentified person trying to buy weapons in early July, and that person became a confidential source for the government. Accompanied by the witness, Kodirov bought a Sendra M115A1 automatic rifle from an undercover agent at a Birmingham-area motel on July 13, when authorities said the final threat was made against the president. The agent also gave Kodirov four hand grenades with the powder removed.

Authorities say Kodirov was in the country illegally on a student visa.