The Latest: Militia member pleads in Minnesota mosque attack

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Latest on federal court hearings for two men charged in the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque (all times local):

11:15 a.m.

A militia member accused of bombing a Minnesota mosque and attempting to bomb an Illinois women’s clinic has pleaded guilty to his role in the attacks.

Twenty-nine-year-old Michael McWhorter of Clarence, Illinois, pleaded guilty to five counts on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Minnesota. A plea agreement calls for as much as 38 years in prison when he is sentenced later.

McWhorter and two other men are accused of attacking Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. McWhorter admitted that the men did it to scare Muslims from the country. The pipe bomb thrown into the mosque in August 2017 caused damage, but no injuries.

In the Illinois attack, a pipe bomb thrown into a Champaign abortion clinic in November 2017 failed to explode.

Co-defendant Joe Morris is also expected to plead guilty Thursday.

A third man, 47-year-old Michael Hari, is also charged.

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Two of three militia members accused of bombing a Minnesota mosque and attempting to bomb an Illinois women’s clinic are expected to enter guilty pleas.

Twenty-nine-year-old Michael McWhorter and 23-year-old Joe Morris are scheduled to appear Thursday in U.S. District Court in Minnesota for a change of plea hearing. This typically means the defendants will plead guilty.

The Clarence, Illinois, men face federal hate crime charges and other counts. A third man, 47-year-old Michael Hari, is also charged.

The men are accused of attacking Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in August 2017. McWhorter allegedly said the men did it to scare Muslims from the country. The pipe bomb thrown into the mosque caused damage, but no injuries.

In the Illinois attack, a pipe bomb thrown into a Champaign, Illinois, abortion clinic in November 2017 failed to explode.