Lubbock Terror Trial Begins Thurday In Amarillo

Accused 'lone wolf' terrorist Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari is set to go on trial on charges out of Lubbock on Thursday here in Amarillo.

FBI agents arrested Aldawsari, now 22, in February 2011 after searching his apartment and finding chemicals, laboratory equipment and other indications the former Texas Tech and South Plains College student was studying how to make a bomb and researching potential targets. They also found jihadist writings in his personal journal.

Among the potential targets Aldawsari allegedly considered: former President George W. Bush’s Dallas home; the Cotton Bowl; the homes of three soldiers once stationed at the Army’s controversial Abu Ghraib prison; and dams in California and Colorado.

He’d also written notes about plans to set off car bombs in New York City and searched the Internet to find out if he could carry a backpack into a Dallas night club.

The trial is expected to last eight to 10 days. Prosecutors may call as many as 33 witnesses and present more than 400 exhibits. The defense’s lists show 13 potential witnesses and 38 exhibits.