Man pleads guilty to planning attacks on White House and Trump Tower

A Texas man on Monday pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to provide material support for terror groups after authorities said he plotted to attack Trump Tower in New York City as well as the White House.

In a statement, the Justice Department said that 22-year-old Jaylyn Christopher Molina, who also goes by the Islamic name Abdur Rahim, had pleaded guilty to conspiring with a South Carolina man to run a group chat for Islamic State supporters, disseminating ISIS propaganda and distributing bombmaking instructions.

Molina also pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography, according to the news release, which stated that investigators found an illegal image on Molina’s phone after executing a warrant to search his home. He faces up to 20 years in prison on both charges.

Court records obtained by The Associated Press indicated that Molina discussed targeting various major locations in the U.S. for terrorist attacks, including the White House, the New York Stock Exchange and Trump Tower.

News of Molina’s arrest broke in September when it was reported that he and his alleged accomplice, Kristopher Sean Matthews, discussed how the attacks would help them attain “rock star status.”