New Year's Eve terrorist attack foiled by the FBI. Where it was going to take place / The young man who planned it spoke to two FBI agents who were undercover
FBI agents. Illustrative photo. Source: Dreamstime.com
US federal authorities foiled a possible terrorist attack planned for New Year's Eve in a town in the state of North Carolina, FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Friday. The suspect, an 18-year-old American, was allegedly influenced by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization, AFP, EFE and dpa report, quoted by Agerpres.
According to the FBI, Christian Sturdivant was arrested on Dec. 31 in the town of Mint Hill and is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
A judge decided to keep him in preventive detention until a new hearing scheduled for January 7.
The suspect had been preparing the attack for almost a year
Federal prosecutor Russ Ferguson said the suspect had been planning the attack for nearly a year. He allegedly planned to attack on New Year's Eve with the aim of killing as many people as possible, targeting at least 20 victims, in a grocery store and a fast food restaurant, using knives and hammers.
Investigators determined that the young man was in contact with two people he believed to be members of the Islamic State group, but who were in fact undercover FBI agents. In discussions with them, the suspect allegedly expressed his loyalty to IS, stating that he was preparing for “jihad” and that he was willing to die “as a martyr” in a confrontation with the police.
The plan of the attack, discovered at the home of the one who planned it
A search of his home on 29 December led to the discovery of manuscripts, gloves, two hammers and two knives, as well as notes titled “Operation Martyrdom”, which described the plan of the attack. Other documents indicated that Jews, Christians and members of the LGBTQ+ community were specifically targeted.
Authorities said Christian Sturdivant had been known to the FBI since 2022, when he was a minor, because of his online contacts with people associated with the Islamic State. No charges were laid at that time, and the young man received psychological care.
In December, the FBI resumed its permanent monitoring after new alerts about its online activity, which allowed it to intervene before the public was put at risk.
The announcement comes weeks after US authorities foiled other planned New Year's Eve terror attacks in California. US Attorney General Pam Bondi previously said that in mid-December, planned attacks in Los Angeles and Orange County, some attributed to extremist groups with different motivations, had been foiled.
Photo: Dreamstime.com
