( CNN ) -- This week the U.S. Justice Department accused an Iranian-American , who allegedly has ties to Iran 's elite Quds Force , of attempting to hire a man he thought was a Mexican cartel hitman to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States . Some question the plausibility of the circumstances that prosecutors have described involving Manssor Arbabsiar , a 56-year-old used-car salesman from Texas . The alleged plot , if proven , would be but one of several terror schemes hatched by American citizens that were intended to occur on U.S. soil but were not carried out . Here are a few of those : . Iyman Faris . In 2002 , Pakistani-American Iyman Faris worked as a truck driver in Columbus , Ohio . He was convicted of providing material support to al Qaeda for his role in a plot to attack the Brooklyn Bridge . WikiLeaks documents released this spring reveal more details about Faris ' role in the war on terror . Faris pleaded guilty to providing material support to al Qaeda and was sentenced in October 2003 to 20 years in prison . He 's now behind bars in Florence , Ohio . Ryan Anderson . In September 2004 , then-26-year-old Ryan Anderson , a U.S. citizen and member of the Washington National Guard , was convicted of passing military information to American agents posing as al Qaeda operatives . Anderson , a convert to Islam , was arrested earlier that year at Fort Lewis , Washington . According to the News Tribune in Tacoma , Washington , which covered Anderson 's story extensively , military prosecutors contended that Anderson had `` grown disgusted '' with what he viewed as `` the moral decay '' of America , and that Anderson disagreed with the war in Iraq . He was also upset that his Guard unit was being deployed . Kevin James . In 2005 , authorities announced that they had foiled a plot , concocted in a California prison , to use proceeds from gas station robberies to carry out terror attacks . Planned targets included military recruitment centers , synagogues and the Israeli consulate . Kevin James pleaded guilty in 2007 to conspiracy to levy war against the government of the United States through terrorism , and to oppose by force the authority of the U.S. government . The danger of Islamic radicalization inside American prisons is `` real and present , '' Rep. Peter King , R-New York , said in June during a controversial hearing on the subject . King is the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee . King weighed in on the alleged plot revealed this week , telling CNN that evidence in the case against Arbabsia is strong . Jose Padilla . Perhaps the most well-known American citizen convicted of plotting against the U.S. in the war on terror is Jose Padilla . In June 2002 , then-Attorney General John Ashcroft said that the former Chicago gang member , who had converted to Islam , had been detained at Chicago O'Hare International Airport . At that time , Padilla was accused of plotting with al Qaeda to explode a radioactive `` dirty bomb '' in the United States . Three years later , a new indictment against Padilla was filed but made no mention of a dirty bomb . On August 16 , 2007 , Padilla and two co-defendants , Adham Hassoun and Kifan Jayyousi , were found guilty of conspiracy to murder , kidnap , and maim people in a foreign country , conspiracy to provide material support for terrorists , and providing material support for terrorists . In 2008 , Padilla was sentenced to 17 years and four months in prison . Hassoun was also sentenced to 15 years and eight months and Jayyousi to 12 years and eight months . In September 2011 , the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Padilla 's 17-year sentence is too lenient . Paul Hall . In April 2009 , an American citizen born Paul Hall -- aka Hassan Abu-Jihaad -- was sentenced to 10 years in prison . In March of 2007 , the former Navy sailor aboard the USS Benfold was arrested and charged with providing information to a London-based group called Azzam Publications in 2001 regarding the classified movements of his U.S. Navy battle group as it traveled from California to the Persian Gulf region . Azzam operated English-language jihadi Web sites . In March 2008 , jurors in New Haven , Connecticut , convicted Hall of providing material support to terrorists and disclosing classified national defense information . Faisal Shahzad . In October 2010 , after a New York judge sentenced a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen to life in prison for trying to detonate a car bomb in Times Square , Faisal Shahzad warned the court , `` Brace yourself . The war with Muslims has just begun . '' Shahzad had an MBA and was at one point a financial analyst . He was living in Connecticut . On May 1 , 2010 , Shazad parked a vehicle in Times Square rigged with an explosive device that did not go off . Street vendors tipped off police to the abandoned car . He was caught aboard a flight about to depart from New York en route to Dubai . He allegedly confessed to the plot .
An Iranian - American has been accused of plotting a terrorist attack to occur in the city . Numerous other American citizens have been accused of plotting attacks . They include a former Marine , National Guard soldier and a Chicago police member .