Blair- photo Shawnee County
JOHN HANNA, Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to one year and four months in prison for helping a would-be jihadist’s unsuccessful attempt to plant what they thought was a bomb at an Army post in northeast Kansas.
A federal judge sentenced 29-year-old Alexander Blair on Tuesday. The Topeka man was accused of loaning $100 to 21-year-old John T. Booker Jr. to store an explosive device. It actually was a fake bomb built by FBI informants.
Prosecutors allege Booker intended to plant it outside Fort Riley in support of the Islamic State group. Blair pleaded guilty in May to a conspiracy charge.
Blair’s attorney sought five years’ probation, arguing Blair has an unusual genetic personality disorder. Prosecutors pushed for the maximum five-year prison term.
Booker pleaded guilty in February to two felonies. He hasn’t been sentenced.