New York man wanted to blow himself up on the National Mall on Election Day

Paul Rosenfeld was arrested on charges that he built a bomb and planned to kill himself with it to draw attention to beliefs in ancient election system.

The FBI has arrested an upstate New York man accused of building a bomb that he intended to use to blow himself up on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Election Day, authorities said Wednesday.

Court documents say Paul Rosenfeld, 56, of Tappan, wanted to draw attention to his belief in "sortition," the ancient practice of randomly selecting legislators out of a pool of eligible voters.

The plot unraveled after Rosenfeld sent letters and text messages to a reporter in Pennsylvania in August and September, stating that he planned to blow himself up in the heart of the capital on Election Day, according to court papers and officials.

The reporter contacted authorities, and on Tuesday, FBI agents pulled over Rosenfeld while he was driving, court papers say.

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