Man re-sentenced to 27 years for Chicago terrorist bomb plot after original sentence thrown out
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man convicted of plotting to detonate a car bomb in the Loop in 2012 was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Friday, after an appeals court determined in 2020 that his original 16-year sentence was too lenient.
Adel Daoud was 18 years old when he was arrested after parking a car outside a downtown bar in September 2012 and pushing a button he believed would set off a 1,000-pound bomb inside. Federal agents, who had been investigating him for posting messages online saying he wanted to engage in a violent "jihad" and work with terrorists, had supplied the fake device and made it smell like diesel fuel to convince Daoud it was real.
Daoud pleaded guilty in 2018, while maintaining his innocence under what's known as an "Alford plea" and in 2019 he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
In 2020, a federal appeals court panel tossed out his original sentence, ruling the punishment was not harsh enough.
Daoud's defense had argued he was manipulated by federal agents, and could not carry out a bomb plot on his own, but the judge in his case determined he had demonstrated a pattern of violent behavior.
Following a new sentencing hearing last August, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly, who took over the case from the original judge, sentenced him to 27 years in prison on Friday.
While in jail for trying to set off the bomb, Daoud was charged with plotting to arrange for a gang member to kill an FBI agent who had worked on his case. That plot was not carried out, and the agent was not injured Daoud also was charged with attacking a fellow inmate while behind bars.
His plea and sentence in the bombing plot also cover the other charges against him.
After he completes his sentence, he will be placed on lifetime supervised release, requiring him to be monitored by probation officers.
