OCALA — A Florida man is accused in a plot to blow up several Target stores along the East Coast in an attempt to acquire cheap stock in the company if the stock value plunged after the explosions.

The U.S Attorney's Office in the middle district of Florida said in a news release on Thursday that 48-year-old Mark Charles Barnett is charged with possession of a firearm affecting commerce by a previously convicted felon. Barnett is a registered sex offender in Florida.

If convicted, Barnett faces up to 10 years in prison. Jail records don't say whether he's hired a lawyer.

An affidavit says Barnett offered to pay another man $10,000 to place at least 10 "improvised explosive bombs" disguised in food-item packaging in stores from New York to Florida. The man went to authorities.

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