He already had one, but tried to purchase another one during the trip that ended up being his last as a free man for quite a while. He wanted the second rifle to protect his “fireworks,” of course.

[Youssef Samir] Megahed and Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, were traveling through Ocala in August and stopped at a Wal-Mart early in the morning, but did not buy any firearms because there was no one in that department to help them, the prosecutor said. It was not clear from the hearing which Wal-Mart they visited.

But it was on that trip that they ended up being arrested in Goose Creek, S.C., when police reported finding items used to make pipe bombs in the trunk of their car.

Both were indicted on federal charges of transporting explosives across state lines.

Mohamed also faces terrorism-related charges for allegedly making and posting on the Internet a video demonstrating how to convert a remote-control toy into a detonator for explosives.

Hoffer argued during the hearing that the stop in Ocala to look at guns combined with the other evidence suggests a “sinister nature” to the excursion. The students have contended it was an innocent college road trip to the Carolina beaches.

Yup. They were just two innocent lads, probably just looking for a White Castle.