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Saudi Suspect In WMD Case To Plead Not Guilty

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari.
Lubbock County Sheriff's Office
/
Getty Images
Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari.

The 20-year-old college student from Saudi Arabia who was arrested in Texas yesterday and is accused of trying to put together an explosive device that he might have intended to use to attack former President George W. Bush's home in Dallas will plead innocent, his attorney said this morning.

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari made his first court appearance today, in Lubbock. Reuters reports that:

"Aldawsari did not enter an official plea ... which he attended with arms and legs shackled and wearing a blue jail uniform. Aldawsari will be asked to enter an official plea at a detention hearing now set for March 11.

"His attorney, Rod Hobson, said he will enter a 'not guilty' plea. 'As an accused person, Mr. Aldawsari is presumed innocent,' Hobson said in a statement distributed to reporters after the hearing."

The local Lubbock Avalanche-Journaladds that Hobson also said in the statement that:

"The eyes of the world are on this case and the treatment of this accused person. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to show the world how truly fair our legal system is; even to those who are accused of trying to harm our country."

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