A Maryland man accused of planning an Islamic State-inspired attack at a shopping and entertainment complex near Washington, D.C., was indicted Wednesday on a terrorism-related charge, five months after his arrest.
A federal grand jury indicted Rondell Henry, 28, of Germantown, on a new charge of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State.
Henry was arrested March 28 and remains detained pending trial. He initially was indicted in April and pleaded not guilty to one count of interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.
Henry allegedly stole a U-Haul van in Virginia and parked it at the National Harbor, a popular waterfront destination just outside the nation's capital. Police arrested him the next morning after they found the van and saw Henry jump over a security fence.
Henry told investigators he planned to carry out an attack similar to one in which a driver ran over and killed dozens of people in Nice, France, in 2016, authorities said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Windom said during an April 9 detention hearing that Henry intended to kill as many "disbelievers" as possible.
Federal public defender Michael CitaraManis, who represented Henry at the hearing in April, urged the court to be skeptical of authorities' claims and argued that the government "is trying to fit certain facts into their narrative."
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