An American Muslim has been charged with conspiring to assassinate President Bush, and with supporting Al Qaeda: Va. Man Charged in Alleged Assassination Plot. (Hat tip: SoCalJustice.)

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, a U.S. citizen, made an initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court but did not enter a plea. He contended that he was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia since June of 2003 and offered through his lawyer to show the judge his scars.

The federal indictment said that in 2002 and 2003 Abu Ali and an unidentified co-conspirator discussed plans for Abu Ali to assassinate Bush. They discussed two scenarios, the indictment said, one in which Abu Ali “would get close enough to the president to shoot him on the street” and, alternatively, “an operation in which Abu Ali would detonate a car bomb.”

The White House had no comment on the indictment.

Abu Ali was born in Houston and moved to Falls Church, Va., where he was valedictorian of his high school class. Federal prosecutors say Abu Ali joined an al Qaeda cell in Saudi Arabia in 2001. The alleged Bush plot occurred while he was studying in that country.

UPDATE at 2/22/05 9:36:08 am:

Here is the indictment (PDF, 456K) of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali. Unlike most legal documents, this one is actually interesting to read.