The Associated Press
Monday, December 18, 2006; 11:43 PM

GREENBELT, Md. -- A man who plotted to attack an abortion clinic with a pipe bomb and handgun was sentenced Monday to five years in prison.

Robert Weiler Jr., 26, pleaded guilty in October to federal charges of possessing a pipe bomb, being a felon with a firearm and attempting to destory or damage an abortion clinic, prosecutors said. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Weiler was arrested in June at a western Maryland highway rest stop after he called a federal agent to confess to the plan, authorities said. Weiler had built a pipe bomb, stolen a handgun from a friend and planned to attack a clinic in suburban Washington, authorities said.

The bomb, however, exploded in a house belonging to Weiler's friend as a bomb technician tried to defuse it. No one was injured, but it set fire to the house.