NEW YORK (AP) — A man charged with plotting to attack police and soldiers with homemade bombs pleaded not guilty Tuesday to rarely used state-level terrorism charges.

Jose Pimentel nearly whispered “not guilty” in a case authorities describe as bringing down an overt al-Qaida sympathizer who was building a pipe bomb to act on his violent beliefs, but his lawyers call an example of police overreaching.

“We think that when a jury hears both sides of this case, they’ll see it for what it really is,” one of his lawyers, Susan J. Walsh, said as she left court.