That's a relief to potential victims, the DA's office, and all taxpayers. Now its on to life with no possibility of parole.

Sounds like just a little vandalism to me, certainly not violence.

Whenever I think about that night, I think about the Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston in 1942, right next to a place I lived fifty years later. 492 died that night, in just a few minutes. So horrifying. Thank god it didn't happen here.

@2: If nobody was there versus it being filled to the brim with people at the time, you might've been accurate. Instead you're left with a bizarre endorsement of attempted murder.

@1: You are part of what is wrong with America.

@4, I think (but could be wrong) that @2 was making a snarky reference to Brendan's vandalism vs violence screed back in '12.

@2, wait? What???

A little vandalism? Seriously? There were 750 people inside that building. Masmari attempted to set fire to the stairway to the balcony, potentially trapping a bunch of people upstairs. It is only dumb luck and quick work with a fire extinguisher that saved hundreds of people from being burned to death.

I get that not everyone is comfortable with gay people, but you've got to be a psychopath not to care that hundreds of people could have died in that fire.

This was not "just" arson, it was attempted mass murder by arson.

@6, you're not wrong, @2 was definitely a reference to the vandal/violent debate.

@6
Of course he was, but he was still being a dick about it for the reason outlined @4.

@5: What, you want parole after (x) years -- or a less than life (y)-year sentence with parole after (z) years? Okay, please enlighten us on your argument. Or, perhaps you want a public defender to persuade him to reconsider his plead under a duress clause?

@12: Life imprisonment without possibility of parole is the second most severe punishment in our judicial system. It, like the death penalty, should be reserved for the most heinous offenders committing the most depraved crimes-against-the-person.
Why? Because they are ENTIRELY about punishment and give no regard to rehabilitation, essentially declaring that the convict is psychologically/sociologically beyond repair. Mr. Masmari has a middling criminal record, full of disruption but with no real history of violence. Certainly, many people could have died due to his actions, but we punish attempted murder less severely than completed murder for a reason.
Given that the charges would be arson, reckless endangerment, and/or attempted murder, it would be unjust to sentence him to life without parole. The stated range of 5 to 20 years imprisonment is just, in my opinion.

I was under the impression this rat scumbag was from Turkey. If so, after he's out deport his sick ass back to Turkey and put him on the no fly list.

@13 normally I'd agree, but for attempted murder of 750 people?

The Islamaphobic and anti-immigrant subtext of many comments in this thread is deeply troubling.

@14 -- Unfortunately for your thesis, he's American. His plane ticket was to Turkey, one-way.

I know Musab. Musab was born here. His parents are Libyan. I'm glad he pled guilty. I'm one of the people who contacted authorities. I told them if they approached him right, appealed to his sense of honor, he would fess up. And he did.

He's not a terrorist. Nor really homophobic. He is a troubled, emotionally disturbed young man, that I hope, but I doubt, will finally get help. Prison is the last place to get psychological treatment.

But he wasn't always like this. In fact he was delightful. Something happened. I don't know what. But clearly he had a break. We tried to alert his family. But what could they do? Something like this was bound to happen. Im just glad nobody got hurt. Frankly, It's a tradgedy all round.

@13: Thank you. But it's more serious than attempted murder or reckless endangerment in my opinion as enduring burn rehabilitation, scaring, and a lifetime of intense pain and suffering for any victims that would have survived makes it a particularly heinous and evil attempt.

Attempted mass murder, and he faces a single charge of attempted arson. And the conservative straight white attorney who brokered this deal says, "It's a great result for the community." As if we needed further proof about the extremely low regard the Obama administration has for us.