AFP, CHICAGO: A US man was charged with helping to plan an attack on an event in Texas showcasing cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammed and appeared in court Tuesday.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the failed attack last month in which two gunmen armed with assault rifles were shot dead by a police officer before they could storm the event in a Dallas suburb.
However, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the attack was inspired rather than directed by the militant group, which he called an "important distinction."
Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem is accused of providing the shooters with guns and helping them to practice using them in the desert near Phoenix, Arizona.
He is also accused of hosting the two gunmen along with "other persons known and unknown" at his home "to discuss the Mohammed Art Exhibit and Contest and their plan to travel from Phoenix, Arizona to Garland, Texas to conduct an attack on the contest," charging papers said.