NEW BERN, N.C. -- The man accused of being the ringleader of a North Carolina terrorism ring that threatened jihad overseas pleaded guilty Wednesday afternoon in federal court.
Daniel Patrick Boyd, 40, who lived in Johnston County, told a judge he was guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism between November 2006 and July 2009. He also plead guilty to conspiracy to "murder, kidnap, maim and injure people in a foreign country."
He is scheduled to be sentenced in May and could be given a life sentence.
Boyd's arrest in 2009 stirred shock and disbelief in the quiet Willow Springs community where he and his family lived.
Neighbors described him as a devoted Muslim, but an unassuming, friendly drywall contractor.
"This case proves how our world is changing," U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding said in a statement. "Terrorists are no longer only from foreign countries but also citizens who live within our own borders."
Federal agents arrested Boyd, two of his sons and four others on July 27, 2009, and accused them of taking part in a conspiracy to wage "violent jihad" outside the United States.
They accused Boyd of recruiting his co-defendants to help him plot attack of government facilities and kill U.S. military personnel.
In court documents and court hearings, federal prosecutors contend that FBI agents seized nearly two dozen guns and more than 27,000 rounds of ammunition from Boyd's home.
The indictment accused the defendants of training in military-style tactics and traveling to the Middle East and Kosovo hoping to kill, kidnap and maim as part of holy war.
No other defendants appeared at the hearing in the federal courthouse in New Bern.
Boyd's two sons -- Zakariya and Dylan -- have been indicted for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons in a foreign country; and firearms violations.
During a 2009 detention hearing, federal authorities played audiotapes of Boyd talking in his home about protecting Muslims at all costs. The tape included long discussions about the struggle of Muslims, the honor of martyrdom and his disgust with the U.S. military.
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