Original Source CJ Online
Blair was arrested April 10 on a charge alleging he knew about the planned attack using a weapon of mass destruction at Fort Riley.
Blair defended by Christopher Joseph of Joseph Hollander & Craft faces a federal charge of misprision of a felony. Authorities allege he knew about the planned attack and did not report it to state or federal authorities.
Charged with allegedly knowing about another man’s plan to detonate a bomb at Fort Riley to kill soldiers was placed on house arrest on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Topeka.
The defendant, Alexander E. Blair, 28, will live in the Meriden home of his parents who agreed in court to supervise him and to monitor him during his release from incarceration.
Blair will not be released until Monday at the earliest so that a piece of monitoring equipment can be located for him. Until then, Blair will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Office.
The prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice as well as the defense attorney agreed with the conditions of release for Blair.
Before District Court Judge Daniel Crabtree made his ruling Thursday, he read all the conditions of release in open court, then Blair’s parents signed an agreement to be responsible for their son.
Blair’s mother told the judge her son hadn’t been a problem in their home.
The judge asked Blair whether he understood the conditions of release.
“Yes, sir,” Blair said. Blair will be released on an unsecured bond.
Outside the courthouse, defense attorney Chris Joseph said, “It would have been unusual to not have released (Blair) on misprision of a felony. He was cooperative with (federal) agents and continues to be cooperative.”
Blair’s parents “are very happy to get him home,” Joseph said.
Blair is to remain in his home except when at work, in school, at appointments for mental health treatment, or at alcohol or drug treatment appointments, the judge said.
Blair’s other conditions of release include he is to:
— Surrender any passport.
— Not obtain another passport or travel document.
— Not travel outside Kansas.
— Not possess a firearm or explosive.
— Not use any narcotic other than a prescription.
— Not use alcohol “excessively.”
— Not tamper with a GPS monitoring device.
— Not have contact with John T. Booker Jr. or any witness. Booker Jr., 20, of Topeka, was arrested April 10 and charged in federal court with attempting to detonate a suicide bomb at the Fort Riley military base.
In seeking Blair’s release from custody with conditions, Joseph contended in a written brief that Blair wasn’t a risk to flee, saying Blair didn’t have any money and didn’t own a vehicle.
Future hearing dates won’t be scheduled until prosecution and defense attorneys submit a proposed schedule for the case to the judge.
If convicted of misprision of a felony, Blair could face up to three years in prison. Blair, who is a U.S. citizen, is a 2006 graduate of Jefferson West High School in Jefferson County and takes a medication for depression, anxiety and attention deficit disorder.Booker was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday and is charged with one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, one count of attempting to damage property by means of an explosive, and one count of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, according to a federal indictment unsealed April 10.
In Blair’s criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, prosecutors have alleged Blair shared some of Booker’s “extremist views concerning Jihad against the United State military,” Blair knew about Booker’s plan to detonate a bomb at Fort Riley, knew Booker planned to kill as many soldiers as possible, and admitted he loaned money to Booker to rent a storage unit to store components for a “vehicle-borne improvised explosive device” (VBIED) and to build the device there.