PHILADELPHIA _ A New Jersey teenager pleaded guilty Monday to plotting to assassinate Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to Philadelphia, court records show.
Seventeen-year-old Santos Colon, of Lindenwold, N.J., confessed to soliciting a sniper whom he asked to shoot the pope during his homily at the World Meeting of Families closing Mass, and to planning to set off an explosive device near the gathering near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, according to court documents.
The alleged sniper he contacted, however, was an undercover FBI source.
Colon, who was charged as an adult in federal court, admitted that he planned the assassination with the source in the weeks leading up to the pope's visit. He also instructed the source to buy materials to build the explosives, court documents show.
Colon pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to terrorists. Federal prosecutors have yet to identify a motive.
Colon faces up to 15 years in prison. His sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
