Man Who Tried to Build X-Ray Weapon to Kill Muslims Sentenced to Prison

— -- A New York man who plotted to kill Muslims using an "industrial-grade radiation device" was sentenced today to serve more than eight years in prison.

Eric J. Feight, 55, pleaded guilty on Jan. 22, 2014, and admitted to helping self-proclaimed Ku Klux Klan member Glendon Scott Crawford modify the radiation device to kill Muslims in the Albany, New York, area, authorities said.

Feight assisted Crawford in altering the device to target unsuspecting people with lethal doses of radiation, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney General Carlin.

The two men also attempted to build a remote activation device, so it could be activated remotely, prosecutors said.

"The sentence today highlights both the dangers we face when hatred and bigotry beget domestic terrorism and violent extremism," said U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian.

Hartunian said this case illustrates the importance of vigilance by community members and an immediate, comprehensive investigation by the FBI.

An FBI sting stopped the KKK member and KKK sympathizer from carrying out their plans, prosecutors said.

Crawford tried the get financial support from the KKK for their plot, but a KKK official informed the FBI of their plot and FBI agents posed as businessmen who were willing to support the scheme, prosecutors said.

The FBI launched an investigation into Crawford in 2012 after he allegedly walked into a synagogue in Albany, N.Y., and inquired about technology that could kill "Israel's enemies while they slept," according an FBI affidavit filed in the case.

"No American -- of any background -- should have to live in fear of this kind of attack," Hartunian said.

Crawford called his design "Hiroshima on a light switch," according to the FBI affidavit, which also noted that he and Feight spent several months conducting extensive research on the design. With the help of undercover agents, they were able to test the device that would remotely activate the weapon, according to the affidavit.

They were arrested just before a planned meeting to test the final components of the weapon, prosecutor said. Feight was sentenced for providing material support for terrorists.

Crawford was convicted on Aug. 21, 2015, after a trial in federal court of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and two additional terrorism offenses. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 16, 2016, in Albany and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

ABC News' Mike Levine contributed to this report.