The prosecutor will tell you it's proof of intent.
Without that proof, the defendant can always claim he was joking, not serious, bragging....
When the prosecutor plays the video of the defendant flicking the detonate switch juries respond and defense lawyers plea bargain.
I get that...but why do we need a prosecution for an attempted bombing on a guy who had zero capability to accomplish a bombing until we pretended to give it to him?
He was here on a visa....I'm sure they could've strung him up on some lesser charges and/or sent him packing. Was the time and resources invested in the entire sting (again, all aimed at a guy who had no logisitics support or capability to execute an actual attack) really worth it? What was accomplished? What was the "value added"?