Judge Orders Suspect Held Over Capitol Hill Suicide Bomb Plot

(NewsCore) - A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the man charged with plotting a suicide bombing attack on the US Capitol to remain in jail while prosecutors prepare an official indictment, FOX News Channel reported.

Amine El Khalifi, a 29-year-old of Moroccan descent, also waived his rights to preliminary and detention hearings in his appearance before US Magistrate Judge John Anderson Wednesday.

He will remain incarcerated at least until the point in which a grand jury decides whether to formally indict him.

Anderson said Wednesday he was ordering El Khalifi to be held because of his status as an illegal immigrant and potential threat to public safety.

El Khalifi was charged last week at his first court appearance with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property owned by the US government. He faces life in prison if convicted.

El Khalifi is being represented by a federal public defender.

He has lived in the US for at least 12 years but is not a US citizen and was living in the country illegally, the Justice Department said last week.