(Cleveland.com) A man whom the FBI said planned an attack on a downtown Cleveland park where spectators planned to watch last year’s Independence Day fireworks pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges.
Demetrius Pitts admitted to charges of attempting to provide material support to the terrorist group al-Qaida, as well as making threats against President Donald Trump and his children.
Pitts, 50, has agreed to serve 14 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. will sentence him Feb. 11.
The FBI announced Pitts’ arrest two days before the Fourth of July in 2018. It came after Pitts corresponded with an undercover agent and scoped out areas at and near Voinovich Park to carry out an attack.
