In September 2009 Najubullah Zazi drove to New York City with plans of attacking the subway system. Upon learning of being watched by the FBI, Zazi fled back to Colorado, dropping the plot that was authorized by al-Qaida.

Najibullah Zazi faces life in sentence after pleading guilty to federal terrorism charges, but it is now his father who is making headlines.

On Friday, Mohammed Wali Zazi, 56, and a U.S. citizen from Afghanistan, was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for destroying evidence and lying to investigators to cover up his son's bomb plot. The father was originally supposed to face up to 40 years in jail. According to the Huffington Post, Mohammed Wali Zazi's attorneys argued that Zazi was only trying to protect his family, and that he had no idea what his son had planned.

The plot was called a martyrdom operation. It was planned in 2009 around the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. After police caught Najibullah Zazi, Mohammed Wali Zazi ordered his family to destroy bomb making materials. According to Business Week, these materials included liquid chemicals.

Zazi believes that his son was not planning the attack, and that his family is being victimized. I believe my son was pressured, said Zazi. I don't think that he was involved in any wrongdoing. I am sorry.

While U.S. District Court Judge John Gleeson understands that Mohammed Wali Zazi was only trying to protect his son, he said that the father still needed to be punished. Gleeson said that Zazi hindered a fast-moving and critical terrorist investigation. When someone is going to bomb the New York City subway system, every lie matters, said Gleeson.

Court Afghanistan New York Fbi