Kansas Bombing Plot Defendant Faces August Court Hearing

A federal court hearing is set for next month for a 20-year-old man charged with plotting to bomb an Army post in Kansas in support of the Islamic State group.

John T. Booker Jr. of Topeka is to appear Aug. 19 before U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia in Kansas City, Kansas. The judge plans to review the status of Booker’s case.

Murguia issued a sealed order Wednesday granting a motion filed Tuesday by a public defender representing Booker, also under seal.

According to court documents, Booker was arrested in April while trying to arm what he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb inside a van near Fort Riley, about an hour west of Topeka. The charges against him include attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.