Man Sentenced For Aventura Jewish Center Bomb Plot
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — A man convicted of plotting to bomb a South Florida synagogue and Jewish school center will serve a maximum of 25 years in prison.
Last August, 41-year-old James Medina pleaded guilty to a federal religious hate crime and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. The maximum sentence he could have received was life in prison.
He'll spend the first part of his sentence in federal prison medical ward. Medina has a schizoaffective disorder that was likely caused or exacerbated by a "spiderlike" brain cyst, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Medina reportedly admitted to planning to attack the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center during Passover last year. Medina was arrested in April 2016 after approaching the center with a fake bomb provided by an undercover FBI informant.
FBI recordings showed Medina supported the Islamic State extremist group and claimed an obligation to attack Jews in the U.S.