Robert Snell

The Detroit News

Detroit — A Detroit man accused of plotting jihad on behalf of the Islamic State is scheduled to plead guilty March 30, ending a high-profile terror case that drew international headlines, according to federal court records.

The hearing, set Tuesday, is the latest development in a case being investigated in at least three states involving Sebastian Gregerson, aka Abdurrahman Bin Mikaayl. Gregerson, 30, is accused of buying fragmentation grenades from an undercover FBI employee, and the FBI believes he was plotting violent jihad with a radical former imam in Maryland, according to court records.

The plea deal was unclear early Tuesday and the U.S. Attorney’s Office could not be reached for comment. Gregerson’s defense lawyer declined to comment.

Gregerson is charged with several felonies punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison, including receipt of explosive materials with intent to harm. He was scheduled to stand trial May 1 in front of U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow.

Separately, Gregerson was indicted Dec. 14 in a Virginia federal court and accused of conspiring to illegally purchase firearms through a straw buyer.

The purchase involved a Virginia man labeled by prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator.

Prosecutors said the Virginia charges undercut Gregerson’s defense that he was merely a gun enthusiast who legally purchased weapons.

The plea hearing is scheduled eight months after Gregerson was arrested in Monroe after allegedly buying fragmentation grenades from an undercover FBI agent.

Gregerson arrived with a handgun that he planned on trading for five fragmentation grenades, court records show.

The undercover agent took the gun and gave the grenades to Gregerson. The grenades contained several ounces of TNT and another explosive similar to the type used by underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in the failed Christmas Day 2009 terror attack aboard a Detroit-bound airliner.

Gregerson is part of a broader based group of like-minded supporters in Maryland, prosecutors have said.

The grenades were part of an armory of weapons Gregerson amassed in recent years. The armory included AK-47s, handguns, rifles, a shotgun and thousands of rounds of ammunition, according to sealed court documents obtained by The Detroit News.

The armory was purchased, in part, by a former imam in Maryland, Suleiman Bengharsa. Bengharsa has not been charged with a crime and told The News that he does not support the Islamic State.

Gregerson, meanwhile, grew up near Ann Arbor and converted to Islam after high school. He is married, the father of 4-year-old twins and, until his arrest, worked retail at a Target store.

rsnell@detnews.com

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Twitter: @robertsnellnews