The FBI arrested Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, 19, a Canadian citizen, while traveling to the United States from Canada in the summer of 2016 and he has pled guilty to terrorism offenses; Talha Haroon, 19, an American living in Pakistan, was arrested in Pakistan; and Russell Salic, 37, a Philippine citizen, was arrested in his home country and is also expected to be sent to the United States for trial, federal prosecutors said.

Federal prosecutors said the three men’s goal was to kill and injure as many people as possible. FBI and NYPD officials said the suspects were arrested before obtaining any weapons — although El Bahnasawy had acquired bomb-making materials and secured a cabin to try to build bombs. They described the plot as inspired by the ISIS terror group but said it was more aspirational than operational.