Authorities: Burlington man planned attack on Raleigh federal building

Bobby John Kobito, 56, pleaded guilty in March to possession of an unregistered firearm silencer, U.S. Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin said.

Authorities were alerted to Kobito in January 2018 when he visited the Islamic Association of Raleigh mosque. A Raleigh police officer who happened to be in the area saw binoculars and shooting targets in Kobito’s car, so the FBI began an investigation to determine whether he planned to commit a criminal act in relation to the mosque.

An FBI informant contacted Kobito social media, Kobito told the informant he had done "hardcore recon" at the mosque but had turned his attention to a Raleigh government building where he believed the National Security Agency had an office. He said the NSA was "spying on everybody and everything we do," so he wanted to shoot the local office.

Kobito also said he'd built his own gun silencer. Authorities found two unregistered silencers at his home during an October search.