Breaking news from Chicago Tribune:
Accused Al Qaeda sleeper agent Ali Al-Marri made a stunning reversal in federal court in Peoria on Thursday, pleading guilty to conspiring and providing support for two of the chief architects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Ali Al-Marri entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm in Peoria. He admitted to one count of conspiring to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization. The Bush administration declared Al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident, an "enemy combatant" in late 2001 and held him without charges for more than five years at a Navy brig in South Carolina.
The designation was dropped when a federal grand jury in Illinois indicted him on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terror. Sentencing is set for July 30.
