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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 21-year-old man is due in federal court over criminal charges alleging that he sought to aid the Islamic State group by planting a bomb at an Army post in northeast Kansas. The hearing Wednesday for John T. Booker Jr. of Topeka was scheduled before U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia to allow Booker to change his pleas of not guilty to three charges. They included attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Booker appeared in the courtroom for the morning hearing, when Judge Carlos Murguia announced he'd received a letter from Booker. Neither he nor Booker's attorney gave details. Booker and his lawyer conferred with Murguia, and the attorney asked that the hearing be delayed until afternoon. Booker was arrested in April 2015 outside Fort Riley, about 60 miles west of Topeka. He was trying to arm what he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb in a van. Prosecutors allege Booker told an FBI informant he wanted to kill Americans and engage in violent jihad on behalf of the Islamic State group, and that he believed such an attack was justified because the Quran "says to kill your enemies wherever they are," according to a criminal complaint.

Kansas man due in court over alleged plot to bomb Army post