Captain's son jailed in plot
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A Boston police captain’s son who authorities say plotted to detonate a bomb at a university was ordered Tuesday to remain behind bars while he awaits trial.
Alexander Ciccolo was arrested July 4 after he received four guns from a person cooperating with the FBI, authorities said.
His father is veteran police Capt. Robert Ciccolo, who alerted the FBI after his son said he wanted to join the Islamic State group. The police captain was not in U.S. District Court in Springfield for his son’s detention hearing Tuesday.
Ciccolo, 23, mouthed “I love you” to his mother, who was seated in the front row.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Regan argued Ciccolo should be held in custody because he poses a danger to the public and is a risk to flee while he is awaiting trial.
Ciccolo is charged only with being a felon in possession of a firearm, but his lawyer said after the court hearing he expects more charges.
O’Regan told Magistrate Judge Katherine Robertson that Ciccolo “came under the sway” of the Islamic State group, developed a hatred for Americans and then accepted the group’s “call to action” and started making plans to kill Americans.
