The attorney for a Mesa teen accused of planning to hold his class hostage tells 3TV the county attorney is using the case for his own political gain.

The 14-year-old boy's attorney said some of the county attorney's decision could ultimately ruin the teen's life.

David Michael Cantor, the teen suspect's attorney, said he has several concerns with this case.

One of them is the county attorney's decision to try Brent Clark as an adult. Another concern is charging him with terrorism.

"I think it's an insult to add a terrorism charge in this day and age to a case like this -- a 14-year-old boy. That's just politicking at the lowest level," Cantor said.

When you think of the word terrorism, images of Osama bin Laden or the 9/11 attacks might come to mind. But according to the County Attorney's Office, what Clark allegedly told investigators he was planning to do at Powell Junior High School in Mesa, according to the law, can also be considered an act of terrorism.

"In the law it's a different kind of crime," Maricopa County Attorney spokesperson Sally Wells said. "It includes any felony that involves a weapon and an intent to disrupt a public institution. When we looked at the definition it seemed to fit perfectly with what was going on in the case."

Investigators say that on March 22, Clark took a knife to school and kidnapped a fellow student. She got away.

When detectives went to Clark's home, they found him wearing camouflage and in possession of a backpack with weapons, which he said he planned to use to take his class hostage.

The county attorney announced Monday he plans to try the 14-year-old as an adult.

"In our judgment, after looking at the facts of the case and having the evidence we believe there wasn't enough time in the juvenile system to deal with the issues he had," Wells said.

If he were tried and convicted as a juvenile, Clark would be released at 18. He wouldn't have a record -- a record that his attorney said could ruin a teen's life.

"With adult charges, he may never get into college, or a dormitory, they would ruin him simply because of an emotional problem," Cantor said.

Cantor describes his client as a good kid who was the victim of intense bullying at school. He said it was a cry for help and not an act of terrorism.

Clark has been in jail since his arrest last month.

In addition to the terrorism charge, a grand jury also indicted him on charges of aggravated assault and kidnapping.