Top charge dropped in NYC Synagogue Bomb Plot

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The top charge has been dropped against two men accused of plotting to blow up synagogues in New York City, authorities said Wednesday.

Ahmed Ferhani and Mohamed Mamdouh pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges including criminal possession of a weapon as a terror crime.

But a grand jury evidently rejected the initial top charge against them, conspiracy as a terror crime, which carried the potential for life in prison. The top charge now carries up to 32 years if they’re convicted.

“The charges have dropped a significant level in this case,” Mamdouh’s lawyer, Aaron Mysliwiec, said in court.

You will see that this case is bogus. ... It’s total entrapment.” she said, adding that Ferhani’s intentions were “absolutely not” terrorism.

“The truth here is that our client has a significant psychological problem,” she said.

His lawyers didn’t specify the mental illness from which they said he suffered, but they said it was lifelong.

Read more: Top charge dropped against NYC synagogue plotters - NYPOST.com

Will terrorism now be defended as a lifelong "mental illness"?