Aldawsari Trial: Last Day of Testimony Focuses on Explosives
By: Nick Ochsner
Updated: June 26, 2012
Federal prosecutors rested their case Tuesday in the trial of accused terrorist Khalid Aldawsari.
Aldawsari, a former student at Texas Tech University and South Plains College, faces one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Aldawsari in February 2011 after learning of his attempt to purchase a large amount of a chemical called phenol, which can be used to make homemade bombs.
During the trial, agents have testified that Aldawsari had the other two chemicals needed to make a highly explosive substance called picric acid. Aldawsar also had other supplies needed to make an improvised explosive device in his apartment.
Most of the testimony Tuesday afternoon centered around videos found on a thumb drive hidden in Aldawsari's apartment that featured a masked man demonstrating how to build bombs in Arabic.
Prosecutors played several videos for the jury including one where the masked man gave a theoretical lesson in the chemistry behind making picric acid, another demonstrating how to make picric acid crystals and a third video explaining how to load mix the explosives and attach them to an ignition source.
Other videos found on Aldawsari's computer and external hard drive include on-line lessons in how to wire cell phones and clocks to be used as remote detonators.
Robert Mothersbaugh, a forensic chemist examiner for the FBI in Quantico, Virginia, testified that picric acid, the explosive substance Aldawsari was trying to make, is slightly more powerful than the explosive TNT.
The prosecution's final witness, Cpt. David Parker, who works as an investigator with the Texas Tech University Police Department and also does forensic computer analysis for state, local and federal law enforcement agencies, told jurors about Google searches Aldawsari did while researching potential targets.
At various points before his arrest, Aldawsari conducted extensive searches about the Cotton Bowl, former President George W. Bush and the Dallas Arboretum.
Aldawsari's research into Bush included a search of his home address in Dallas and news reports about the security details in his neighborhood. He also used GoogleMaps to get directions from a hotel he stayed at in Dallas to the stadium where the Cotton Bowl is played.
After the prosecution rested its case, Aldawsari's defense attorneys told the judge they would not present any evidence in favor of their client. Both sides will give their closing arguments Monday morning.
The jury is expected to begin deliberations before lunch time.
Aldawsari, a former student at Texas Tech University and South Plains College, faces one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Aldawsari in February 2011 after learning of his attempt to purchase a large amount of a chemical called phenol, which can be used to make homemade bombs.
During the trial, agents have testified that Aldawsari had the other two chemicals needed to make a highly explosive substance called picric acid. Aldawsar also had other supplies needed to make an improvised explosive device in his apartment.
Most of the testimony Tuesday afternoon centered around videos found on a thumb drive hidden in Aldawsari's apartment that featured a masked man demonstrating how to build bombs in Arabic.
Prosecutors played several videos for the jury including one where the masked man gave a theoretical lesson in the chemistry behind making picric acid, another demonstrating how to make picric acid crystals and a third video explaining how to load mix the explosives and attach them to an ignition source.
Other videos found on Aldawsari's computer and external hard drive include on-line lessons in how to wire cell phones and clocks to be used as remote detonators.
Robert Mothersbaugh, a forensic chemist examiner for the FBI in Quantico, Virginia, testified that picric acid, the explosive substance Aldawsari was trying to make, is slightly more powerful than the explosive TNT.
The prosecution's final witness, Cpt. David Parker, who works as an investigator with the Texas Tech University Police Department and also does forensic computer analysis for state, local and federal law enforcement agencies, told jurors about Google searches Aldawsari did while researching potential targets.
At various points before his arrest, Aldawsari conducted extensive searches about the Cotton Bowl, former President George W. Bush and the Dallas Arboretum.
Aldawsari's research into Bush included a search of his home address in Dallas and news reports about the security details in his neighborhood. He also used GoogleMaps to get directions from a hotel he stayed at in Dallas to the stadium where the Cotton Bowl is played.
After the prosecution rested its case, Aldawsari's defense attorneys told the judge they would not present any evidence in favor of their client. Both sides will give their closing arguments Monday morning.
The jury is expected to begin deliberations before lunch time.
