Jordanian pleads not guilty in Dallas bomb plot

DALLAS (AP) - A Jordanian man accused of trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper with what he thought was a car bomb has pleaded not guilty.

Nineteen-year-old Hosam Maher Smadi was arraigned Monday. He pleaded not guilty to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a public place.

If convicted, he could face life in prison.

Smadi was arrested Sept. 24 after investigators said he parked a truck with what he believed was a bomb in a garage under a 60-story office building. The device was a decoy provided by FBI agents posing as al-Qaida operatives.

Court-appointed attorney Peter Fleury says he plans to ask that the trial begin sometime after March.

The FBI says it had been keeping tabs on Smadi after finding him on an extremist Web site. Investigators believe he acted alone.