Man charged with backing Islamic State faces trial in June

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The son of a Boston police captain charged with plotting a terrorist attack on a college campus to support the Islamic State group heads to trial next year.

A federal judge last week scheduled 25-year-old Alexander Ciccolo’s (chih-KOH’-lohz) trial to start June 18.

Ciccolo, of Adams, was arrested in July 2015 after receiving guns from a federal informant. Prosecutors say he planned to detonate homemade bombs similar to the pressure cooker bombs used in the 2013 Boston Marathon attack.

He pleaded not guilty to charges including attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

Ciccolo’s attorney has said in court filings the government’s plan to hide the identities of witnesses has hampered his ability to build a defence.

Ciccolo’s mother has said her son “would not hurt a fly.”