Life Sentence for Bush Assassination Plot

A Virginia man has been sentenced to life in prison for joining al Qaeda and plotting to assassinate then-President George W. Bush.

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who grew up in Falls Church, was convicted in federal court in 2005. He was originally sentenced to 30 years in prison, but an appeals court sent back the case out of concern that the sentence was too lenient.

On Monday, U.S. Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said the new sentence takes into account the fact that Abu Ali has never renounced al Qaeda or terrorist activities.

Abu Ali was defiant in a brief statement before the judge, saying Lee would be judged by Allah.

Abu Ali joined al Qaeda while attending college in Saudi Arabia and received training to carry out the assassination plot and other terrorist acts.