Zacarias Moussaoui -- the only person charged in the Sept

Zacarias Moussaoui -- the only person charged in the Sept. 11 terror attacks -- Thursday admitted in open court to belonging to al Qaida and having travelled to the United States to commit terror attacks.
He then attempted to plead guilty to a 6 count indictment presented by prosecutors in an effort to avoid the death penalty.
District Judge Leonie Brinkema told Moussaoui, 34 -- who is acting as his own lawyer -- that a guilty plea would be irreversible and suggested that he take a week to consider the implications of such a move. She also suggested that Moussaoui pursue a plea bargain agreement with prosecutors.
The drama unfolded as the government moved to arraign Moussaoui for the third time on the 6 conspiracy charges, adding language to the original indictment which prosecutors hope will strengthen the death penalty case against him (see july 16).
Initially Moussaoui attempted to enter an "affirmative pure plea," and became visibly angry when Brinkema rejected the plea and entered one of "not guilty."
"You are denying me every sense of justice. You do not have the best interest for me in mind" Moussaoui told Brinkema.
Moussaoui said that he does not want to plead "not guilty," because much of the indictment is true and he fears that to deny some of the charges would alienate a jury and earn him a death sentence. So he asked to have a guilty plea entered, so he could make his case to the jury for why he should not be executed. In a tense outburst -- which led to Brinkema ordering him out of the courtroom, which she rescinded when he stopped yelling -- Moussaoui explicitly admitted to knowledge of the terror attacks, membership in a terror group, and having come to the United States for the purpose of committing terrorist acts.