Facebook activist pleads in abortion-bomb plot

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A Concord man who called himself an “extremist radical fundamentalist” has agreed to plead guilty to giving bomb-making instructions to a confidential informant who said he planned to attack an abortion clinic, according to court documents.

Justin Carl Moose, 26, faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, according to a plea agreement filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Greensboro.

According to the plea agreement, Moose will plead guilty to the charge of distributing information pertaining to the manufacturing and use of an explosive. Moose is scheduled to be sentenced March 2 in Winston-Salem.

“He has taken responsibility for his conduct, which is set out in the plea agreement,” said Moose’s attorney, Walter Holton Jr.

Moose was arrested by the FBI in September after Planned Parenthood alerted the agency that he was advocating violence against abortion clinics on his Facebook page.

According to documents filed by federal prosecutors, Moose had described himself as a “freedom fighter” on his page, advocating opposition to abortion “by any means necessary and at any cost.”

“Whatever you may think about me, you’re probably right,” he wrote, according to the court papers. “Extremist, radical, fundamentalist? Yep!”

FBI agents say Moose linked to a website that provided instructions on making explosive material, and offered commentary on the safest way to fashion the material into bombs.

During an FBI investigation, a confidential informant met with Moose and told him he wanted to bomb a local abortion clinic, according to court documents.

Prosecutors say Moose talked for over an hour with the informant, providing instructions on how to make three different explosive or incendiary devices.

Moose also advised the informant on the best way to conduct surveillance on the clinic, prosecutors say, telling him to drink several beers at a local bar and then stagger around the facility, claiming to be searching for a place to urinate.

“Moose explained that he would only be arrested for public drunkenness, but it is better than conspiracy or trespassing,” court documents say.

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