Man admits claims of Election Day threat was bogus

BENTON - A southern Illinois man faces up to 13 years in prison after admitting he falsely told an FBI agent he knew of a plot to disrupt the 2012 general election with explosives.

Twenty-five-year-old Ray Allen Flener of Sesser pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Benton to charges of making a false statement to a federal officer and of conveying a false threat.

Prosecutors say Flener was a Franklin County detainee in November 2012 when he told the FBI he knew of a plan by a group called "the New World Order" to disrupt the approaching general election by using weapons and explosives. Flener insisted he knew where the weapons and explosives were stored.

The claims turned out to be untrue.

Flener's sentencing is scheduled for July 31.