Man Plotted To Attack New York Muslim Village

A former congressional candidate has admitted plotting to kill residents and destroy a mosque and school in a Muslim village in New York state.

Robert R. Doggart, 63, planned to commit mass murder in Islamberg using an M4 rifle, pistol, explosives and a machete, according to phone calls intercepted through FBI wire taps.

He was arrested by the FBI on 10 April in Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and accepted a plea deal on a charge of interstate communication of threats last month.

Doggart, who ran as an independent candidate for the 4th Congressional District of Tennessee in 2014, had spoken about his plans to attack targets in Islamberg during phone calls and also on his Facebook page.

On his page he wrote: "Target 3 [Islamberg] is vulnerable from many approaches and must be utterly destroyed."

According to the affidavit, during one recorded phone conversation he said: "We will burn down their buildings (and) if anyone attempts to, uh, harm us in any way, our stand gunner will take them down from 350 yards away. The standoff gunner would be me.

"We're gonna be carrying an M4 with 500 rounds of ammunition, light armour piercing, a pistol with three extra magazines, and a machete.

"And if it gets down to the machete, we will cut them to shreds."

Under the plea agreement, Doggart could be sentenced to five years in federal prison. He is currently on a federal bond awaiting sentencing.

Muhammad Matthew Gardner, a spokesman for The Muslims of America (TMOA), said: "Doggart is an example of the results of unchecked and rampant Islamophobia which has spread lies for years about our peaceful community.

"All would agree, if a Muslim did this, the perpetrator would be immediately identified as a terrorist then prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."