A Wichita man who plotted a suicide bomb attack at Dwight D. Eisenhower Airport, formally known as Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. KMUW’s Abigail Wilson reports the had planned to cause what he described as “maximum carnage."
In June, 60-year-old Terry Lee Loewen pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. He apologized to his family Monday during his sentencing for the pain he had caused them.
U.S. District Judge Monti Belot imposed the 20-year sentence, which came as part of a plea deal.
Loewen was arrested during an undercover FBI operation in December 2013 when he tried to bring a van filled with inactive explosives on the airport tarmac. Loewen was an avionics technician and had restricted access to secure airport areas.
Loewen came to the attention of the FBI when he became a Facebook friend of an individual who regularly posted information supporting violent Islamist extremism.
Read the Justice Department's statement below:
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