No bail for Mass. suspect in plot to kill US pols

BOSTON – A Massachusetts man accused in a terror plot to shoot shoppers at U.S. malls, assassinate two politicians and kill American troops in Iraq has been denied bail.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday against granting bail for Tarek Mehanna (TEH'-rek meh-HAH'-nah).

He has been held without bail since October 2009 on charges that include conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, al-Qaida.

Mehanna's lawyer had asked that he be released on bail while he awaits trial, arguing that the case against him is "paper thin" and based on anti-American statements he made in instant messages protected by the First Amendment.

Prosecutors say Mehanna is a flight risk. They say Mehanna and two other men never came close to pulling off an attack but unsuccessfully sought training at terrorist camps in the Middle East.