The FBI arrested an Idaho teenager on April 6 for offering materials help and assets to ISIS, in keeping with a Justice Division assertion.
In keeping with the FBI, Alexander Scott Mercurio, 18, pledged allegiance to ISIS and supposed to commit assaults on its behalf, planning to assault individuals at church buildings in his hometown of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
He deliberate to make use of weapons, together with knives, firearms, and fireplace.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Process Drive (JTTF) carried out the investigation and thwarted Mercurio’s violent plot. Mercurio is at the moment in custody, awaiting his preliminary look, which the Court docket will set.
“As alleged within the grievance, the defendant swore an oath of loyalty to ISIS and deliberate to wage an assault in its identify on church buildings in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho,” stated Lawyer Basic Merrick B. Garland.
“Due to the investigative efforts of the FBI, the defendant was taken into custody earlier than he might act, and he’s now charged with making an attempt to help ISIS’s mission of terror and violence.”
Offering materials help
A federal grievance costs Mercurio with making an attempt to offer materials help or assets to a delegated international terrorist group.
If convicted, Mercurio faces a most sentence of 20 years in federal jail. A decide will decide any sentence after contemplating sentencing tips and different elements.
“The defendant allegedly pledged loyalty to ISIS and sought to assault individuals attending church buildings in Idaho, a very horrific plan which was detected and thwarted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Process Drive,” stated FBI Director Christopher Wray.
“This case needs to be an eye-opener to the hazards of self-radicalization, which is an actual menace to our communities,” stated Particular Agent in Cost Shohini Sinha of the Salt Lake Metropolis FBI.
“We applaud the swift motion taken by the US Lawyer’s Workplace for the District of Idaho, JTTF, the FBI, and native regulation enforcement to mitigate the menace posed by the arrestee: his personal phrases notice a ‘yearning for mayhem and homicide’ and a need to slit the throats of individuals peacefully gathered in prayer. This arrest highlights the threats we face and the continuing potential for worldwide terrorist organizations to encourage native people to hate and violence,” stated SCN Nationwide Director & CEO Michael Masters.
