He claims he was duped by people he met in Delhi after he was contacted online.
But when he was contacted online by another recycler and asked whether he was still looking to buy electronic waste, he immediately replied yes, with one caveat.
His vision of student life drew on Hollywood — specifically, he said sheepishly, the bawdy college movie "American Pie 2" and "Election," the Reese Witherspoon film about high school politics, and on the experiences of Chinese student activists he contacted online.
In May 2012, Mr. Daoud was contacted online by two undercover agents from the F.B.I., and during these conversations he "expressed an interest in engaging in violent jihad, either in the United States or overseas," according to the affidavit.
Mr. Abdulmutallab told F.B.I. agents he was connected to the Qaeda affiliate, which operates largely in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, by a radical Yemeni cleric whom he contacted online.
Would strangers he contacted online be happy to help?
