CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Maple Heights man arrested Sunday and accused of plotting a July 4 terror attack in downtown Cleveland came to the attention of federal agents as early as 2015, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

Demetrius Pitts, 48, is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to al-Qaida.

The affidavit made public Monday provides the following timeline for what the FBI contends Pitts did and said:

December, 2015 -- Abdur Raheem Rafeeq, later determined to be Pitts, sends a private message on Facebook to a California-based political commentary show. According to the affidavit, the message says the USA will be destroyed, along with the phrase "Allahu Akbar."

January, 2017 -- Pitts uses the Facebook account to comment on pictures believed to be from a jihad training camp. He says Muslims need to train for combat, the affidavit says.

February, 2017 -- The FBI reviews Pitts' Facebook account and reports finding threats of violence against the United States.

July, 2017 -- Pitts expresses a desire to recruit people to kill Americans who are anti-Muslim, the affidavit says.

September, 2017 and continuing through April 2018 -- FBI agents in Cincinnati report determining that Pitts is willing to conduct an attack in the United States and willing to join a foreign terrorist organization.

February, 2018 --Investigators report learning that Pitts expressed an interest in joining al-Qaida, training overseas, and returning to the United States to conduct an attack.

April, 2018 -- Pitts expresses his desire to target members of the U.S. military who have killed Muslims overseas, the affidavit says.

June 15, 2018 -- An undercover FBI agent posing as a contact of al-Qaida meets with Pitts in Willoughby after Pitts expresses a desire to meet with an al-Qaida "brother." The agent secretly records the conversation. According to the affidavit, Pitts describes possible targets to attack. Pitts dismisses the idea of targeting a sports venue or marathon and again talks about attacking military members.

June 22, 2018 -- The undercover agent meets with Pitts in Walton Hills, where the affidavit says they discuss launching an attack in Cleveland for al-Qaida during the Fourth of July holiday. Pitts talks about targeting downtown festivities and using a remote control car to set off a bomb. Pitts and the undercover agent review online maps of downtown Cleveland, where Pitts determines an explosive device will have the most "impact," the affidavit says. In talking about possible targets, Pitts is pleased to learn that fireworks are set off from Voinovich Park, which is near the U.S. Coast Guard station, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building. Pitts says he will travel downtown to take photos and record video of the locations, and asks for a bus pass and cellphone to do so.

June 24, 2018 -- Pitts texts the agent, saying that he wants to be known by the name "Salahadeen Osama Waleed."

June 25, 2018 -- Pitts meets in Maple Heights with an undercover FBI employee posing as an al-Qaida contact, who gives him a bus pass and cellphone so he can travel to downtown Cleveland and conduct surveillance.

June 26, 2018 -- Pitts tells the undercover FBI agent that he conducted reconnaissance in downtown Cleveland and wants to "destroy the government," the affidavit says. The FBI observes Pitts on East 9th Street as he records videos or takes photos on a phone. Pitts also tells the agent that he intends to travel to his hometown of Philadelphia to conduct reconnaissance there, but encourages the agent to have a "brother" continue building an explosive device for Cleveland, the affidavit says.

June 27, 2018 -- Pitts meets with an FBI employee in Maple Heights to turn over the phone he used to take photos in downtown Cleveland. The photos were then supposed to be turned over to "al-Qaida brothers." Pitts meets with the agent later that day for more than two hours, during which they drive to downtown Cleveland and discuss the "impending July 4th bombing," the affidavit says. Pitts talks about using a full-size van to execute the bombing and says he will return downtown to conduct more reconnaissance. That evening, Pitts texts the undercover agent and says "Cancel the party for now." He says no vehicles are being allowed close to the site and that police dogs will be in the area for the holiday. Pitts says he wants to go to Philadelphia and seems to reference explosions in text messages with the agent, the affidavit says.

June 28, 2018 -- FBI agents search the phone that Pitts returned. It includes two "bayah" (pledge of allegiance) videos in which Pitts discusses killing, the affidavit says. The undercover agent tells Pitts that "the brothers" want him to search for a vehicle on which they could place a bomb. Pitts agrees to search for several vehicles and report back with images and prices.

June 30, 2018 -- The undercover agent calls Pitts and tells him that the Cleveland operation is a "go." Pitts acknowledges that it is an attack on behalf of al-Qaida. The agent tells him there will be a large explosion in front of the U.S. Coast Guard Station on July 4. Pitts discusses the possibility of traveling to San Francisco to conduct additional reconnaissance there.

July 1, 2018 -- Pitts and the agent meet in Garfield Heights so Pitts can discuss his Philadelphia plans. The agent then shows Pitts a toy car containing explosives and BBs. Pitts suggests they detonate the remote-control car under a police or FBI vehicle as a distraction, the affidavit says, then detonate a larger bomb in Cleveland. He also suggests giving the cars to the children of military personnel, so that they unwittingly detonate the devices. FBI agents arrest Pitts later in the day.