A man who converted to Islam while in prison has been arrested in Illinois for planning to bomb a government building in Springfield, according to Reuters. The authorities say the arrest has no connection with other recent arrests of suspected terrorists in New York, Denver and Dallas.

The suspect, Michael Finton, had traveled to Saudi Arabia in 2008 and when he came back, told an undercover officer that he intended to go to the Gaza Strip to fight against Israel. The undercover agent maintained contact with Finton as part of a sting, and provided him with a van that he was told contained explosives inside. Finton was arrested after using his cell phone in an attempt to detonate them outside the federal building.

The Los Angeles Times identified the federal building as being the Paul Findley Federal Building, which is a courthouse, and said he was a supporter of Al-Qaeda.

"…it appeared that Finton was on the verge of taking action, so it was decided to proactively provide him with an opportunity for action that we controlled, rather than merely hoping to be able to find out and stop him," Reuters quoted a government affidavit as saying.