'More Clear-Headed' Holliston Man Pleads Guilty To Threatening Obama's Life

HOLLISTON, MA – A Holliston man who authorities say talked about killing President Obama and burning down a mosque pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to unlawful possession of ammunition after federal agents found a "substantial weapons trove" in his home. Joseph Gargiulo told the judge he is "more clear-headed now."

Federal agents searched Joseph Gargiulo's home last year after learning he had acquired parts to make an AR-15 rifle and was stockpiling other weapons, including tasers, mace guns, hunting knives and incendiary chemicals. Authorities say around this time Gargiulo talked about planting bombs in police stations and killing as many homeland security officers as he could before he was killed, chaining a mosque shut and burning it down and assassinating President Obama.

Gargiulo never mentioned a specific mosque or time for such an attack.

A search of the 41-year-old's home yielded the parts needed to make an AR-15, more than 250 rounds of ammunition for the rifle, more than 100 rounds of 9-mm ammunition, chemicals that could be combined to create incendiary or explosive compounds and handwritten notes threatening violence against Muslims.

Gargiulo was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to an active restraining order against him.

The charge of unlawful possession of ammunition carries a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Gargiulo is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 12.

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Materials from the Associated Press were used in this report