A naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia was convicted Thursday of plotting -- unsuccessfully -- to bomb a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Portland , Oregon , more than two years ago . A federal jury in Oregon capped a 14-day trial by finding Mohamed Osman Mohamud , 21 , guilty of one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction , namely explosives . Mohamud is scheduled to be sentenced May 14 . He faces up to life in prison and a $ 250,000 fine . `` When an individual concocts a plan to commit mass violence -- and is determined to follow through -- law enforcement has an obligation to take action to protect the public , '' said Lisa Monaco , a U.S. assistant attorney general . Mohamud was a 19-year-old Oregon State University student when he was arrested on November 26 , 2010 , for trying to blow up what he believed to be an explosives-laden van parked near a holiday event in Pioneer Courthouse Square , authorities said . The bomb -- which Mohamud described that day as `` beautiful , '' according to his arrest affidavit -- was actually fake , thanks to federal agents involved in the extensive undercover operation . Born in Mogadishu in 1991 , Mohamud moved to the United States and became a naturalized U.S. citizen , settling in the northeastern Oregon city of Corvallis . Years before he enrolled at Oregon State University , he 'd started thinking -- at age 15 , according to the U.S. Justice Department -- of taking part in a violent jihad . In February 2009 , he began exchanging the first of about 150 emails with Samir Khan , a now deceased al Qaeda member who published two online publications tied to the terrorist group , Jihad Recollections and Inspire . According to the Justice Department , Mohamud wrote several articles under assumed names for the former publication . The Oregon resident began communicating electronically in August 2009 with another accused terrorist , Amro Al-Ali . ( Al-Ali is now being held in his native Saudi Arabia on terrorist charges , federal authorities said . ) The two discussed Mohamud 's possible travel first to Yemen , then to Pakistan 's northwest frontier province , for terrorist training . `` Yes that would be wonderful , just tell me what I need to do , '' Mohamud wrote back in December 2009 , the affidavit stated . That trip never happened , despite Mohamud 's efforts to contact intermediaries to facilitate it . But he was reached in summer 2010 by a man who , unbeknownst to him , was an undercover FBI employee . `` Mohamud said that he wanted to become 'operational , ' '' the affidavit said in describing Mohamud and the federal agents ' conversations . The FBI probe moved to another level , including several discussions and trips involving Mohamud and undercover agents . On November 4 , 2010 , on the way back from a trial run to a remote location to detonate a bomb , he was asked what he hoped would happen to those attending the Portland holiday ceremony , a family event that includes men , women and children . `` I want whoever is attending that event to leave ... either dead or injured , '' Mohamud said , the affidavit states . Having already canvassed to the area to find a spot to inflict the most casualties , Mohamud got what he believed to be a live bomb from the undercover agents . But the device was inert , and after his second attempt to detonate it , Mohamud was taken into custody . `` This trial provided a rare glimpse into the techniques al Qaeda employs to radicalize home-grown extremists , '' said Amanda Marshall , U.S. Attorney for Oregon . `` With the verdict today , the jury has held this defendant accountable . ''
Mohamed Osman Mohamud said he wanted people to leave the lighting `` dead or injured , '' an affidavit says . A jury convicts Mohamud , 21 , of trying to use a weapon of mass destruction . He is sentenced to life in prison without parole and will be eligible for release after 25 years if he successfully completes his sentence. Authorities tied Mohamud to several alleged terrorists , said he wanted to be part of `` jihad ''