Lawyer for OP man accused of 9/11 event bomb plot claims insanity

A federal judge is set to hear arguments on the competency of the Orange Park man accused of planning a bombing on a September 11^th commemoration event.

Court documents filed by the attorney for 20-year-old Joshua Goldberg says the doctor who has spent weeks evaluating Goldberg believes he is not competent to proceed. WOKV requested the report, but the US Attorney’s Office says it is not considered a public record.  The federal judge who ordered Goldberg’s competency evaluation alluded to depression and other problems noted by Goldberg’s parents as well as in the pre-trial report dealing with Goldberg.

The notice filed by Goldberg’s attorney further says that “if and when Defendant is restored to competent”, he will rely on an insanity defense in trial.

The criminal complaint filed against Goldberg says he communicated online with a person who was actually a confidential informant, providing information on how to make and plant a bomb at a 9/11 commemoration in Kansas City, Missouri. The information he sent to the informant included instructions to fill a pressure cooker with shrapnel that was dipped in rat poison, in order to inflict the most damage and injury.

Goldberg told investigators he thought the bomb-maker would blow himself up during construction, according to the criminal complaint. The records further say Goldberg intended to call police if the bomber was able to plant the device, therefore making himself a hero.

Goldberg is charged in the criminal complaint with distributing information relating to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction.  If he proceeds to trial and is convicted, Goldberg could face 20 years in prison, according to the US Attorney’s Office.

He was ordered on September 15^th to undergo a competency evaluation, which took place at the Federal Detention Center in Miami.  Early indications of the findings were revealed at a December 3^rd status hearing, but more is expected to be revealed at a December 14^th competency hearing. We will have a reported at the hearing and will update you through the afternoon as we learn more.