A Las Vegas man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to terrorism and weapons of mass destruction charges that his lawyer derided as overreach by authorities who mistook target practice components for bomb-making material.
Nicolai Howard Mork also pleaded not guilty Tuesday to possession of explosives components and firearms charges.
He's been jailed on $8 million bail since his indictment last week. The terror charge carries the possibility of life in prison.
Police investigating non-injury fires and explosions in yards near neighborhoods where Mork has lived searched his home in December and reported finding more than 300 pounds of chemicals that could be mixed to create blasts.
Mork's lawyer, Nicholas Wooldridge, says substances like ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder that police found are commonly used to make shooting practice exploding targets.