On Wednesday, agents arrested the man from Cincinnati, Ohio, who ostensibly tweeted under the name Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah, before he could put his alleged plot into action.
It was simple, similar to the Paris attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, but at a key location — the U.S. Capitol, said a criminal complaint filed by an FBI agent.
The plan: Set off pipe bombs to put lawmakers and employees in panicked flight then gun them down with an assault rifle, as they ran across his path and that of an accomplice, Special Agent T.A. Staderman wrote.
Cornell was ready to go, the agent said.
He had made extensive plans with a partner. He had researched bomb making instructions and by Wednesday, Cornell had bought two M-15 rifles with 600 rounds of ammunition.
But the man Cornell believed was his partner was in reality an FBI informant, a man in trouble with the law who worked with the agency to improve his legal standing.
When they found out Cornell had the weapons, authorities made their move before Cornell could. A law enforcement official told CNN that there was never any danger to lawmakers.
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His son stayed out with a friend once for two hours.
“I asked him where he had been. He said that he had went to a mosque,” John Cornell said.
Then Chris moved out quietly. “I never seen him leave,” his father said.
His son left him a note in his former bedroom. It said he had decided to move in with a friend, who had also offered him some work.
Since his son’s arrest, he says he and his wife have not heard anything from officials about where Cornell is. They say they love their son more than ever, and that they are heartbroken.
“He may be facing life in prison,” John Cornell said. “Do you know how devastating that is?”
CNN’s Dave Alsup, Ryan Buckley and Teri Genova contributed to this report.
