The suspect was found with instructions on how to make explosives and was trying to procure chemicals online, Akdogan said.
It was unclear how advanced the preparations were, but Akdogan said small amounts of chemicals were found during a search of the suspect’s home in Florstadt, northeast of Frankfurt.
German authorities have withheld the name of the suspect for privacy reasons and Akdogan said he could not give further details on the planned attack.
In the past American intelligence information has helped thwart plots on German soil, most notably in 2007 when an American Intelligence tip helped stop a plan to bomb the US Air Force’s Ramstein Air Base in southern Germany.