One of two men accused of plotting to storm a military recruitment center in Seattle with machine guns and grenades in retaliation for U.S. military conduct in Afghanistan pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiracy and weapons offenses.

Under his plea deal with federal prosecutors, Walli Mujahidh, 32, formerly of Los Angeles, will face a prison term of 27 to 32 years when he is sentenced in April, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

Terms of the deal are subject to approval by U.S. District Judge James Robart, who is presiding over the case. Mujahidh had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted by a jury. His co-defendant, Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, 33, of Seattle, is due to go on trial in May 2012.

The pair, both U.S. citizens, were arrested in June and indicted the next month on charges of conspiring to attack the Military Entrance Processing Station, where enlistees are screened and processed, about 3 miles south of downtown Seattle.

“Today’s plea underscores the threat posed by home-grown violent extremists and the need for continued vigilance to detect and dismantle their plots,” Lisa Monaco, assistant U.S. attorney general for national security, said in a statement.