The former Marine reservist accused of firing shots at a series of military buildings in Northern Virginia is expected to plead guilty Thursday, according to court records.
Court records show a plea agreement hearing is scheduled in federal court in Alexandria for Yonathan Melaku. Prosecutors allege that he shot at the Pentagon, a Marine Corps recruiting station in Chantilly, a Coast Guard recruiting station in Woodbridge and the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
Melaku was arrested in June and charged in the October and November 2010 shootings after authorities say he was found trespassing in Arlington National Cemetery with potentially explosive materials and a notebook with writings mentioning al Qaeda, the Taliban and Osama bin Laden.
He videotaped himself firing a handgun out of a moving vehicle at the National Museum of the Marine Corps while saying “Allahu Akbar!,” which means, “God is great,” according to prosecutors, who have said he wanted to shut down the military targets.
