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The FBI announced Friday that it disrupted a planned New Year’s Eve terror attack in North Carolina. Christian Sturdivant, 18, was arrested in connection with the alleged plot in Mint Hill, North Carolina, Mediaite reported. Federal prosecutors said the suspect spent more than a year planning a jihad style attack targeting a local supermarket and fast food restaurant.
U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said during a news conference that Sturdivant planned to wear a Kevlar vest and attack victims using knives and hammers.
“He said he was going to wear a Kevlar vest and attack people with knives and hammers,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said investigators discovered knives and hammers hidden under the suspect’s bed while executing a search warrant at his home.
Authorities also found handwritten notes detailing the alleged attack plan, according to prosecutors.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the suspect was allegedly inspired by ISIS.
Attorney General Pam Bondi described the plot as “horrific.”
“The Department of Justice remains vigilant in our pursuit of evil ISIS sympathizers,” Bondi said.
“Anyone plotting to commit such depraved attacks will face the full force of the law,” she added.
The arrest comes days after federal authorities charged a Texas man accused of attempting to assist ISIS.
John Michael Garza Jr., 21, of Midlothian, Texas, was charged after allegedly providing bomb making materials to an undercover agent he believed was an ISIS affiliate.
The Justice Department said Garza brought explosive materials to a meeting with the undercover agent on Dec. 22.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that the Department of Justice has arrested and charged 98 people in Minnesota in connection with fraud investigations, adding that 85 of those charged are of Somali descent. As the investigations continue, she anticipates additional prosecutions.
Her announcement followed the release of a series of videos by Nick Shirley, which alleged that fraud within Minnesota’s Somali community extended beyond the high-profile Feeding Our Future case. That case centers on allegations that the Minneapolis-based nonprofit improperly diverted large amounts of federal funds intended to provide meals for at-risk children and families.
Released late last week, the video has garnered nationwide attention, including from the Trump DOJ.
“[Nick Shirley’s] work has helped show Americans the scale of fraud in Tim Walz’s Minnesota,” Bondi said in an X statement late Monday.
“@TheJusticeDepartment has been investigating this for months. So far, we have charged 98 individuals — 85 of Somali descent — and more than 60 have been found guilty in court,” she continued. “We have more prosecutions coming… BUCKLE UP, LAWMAKERS!”
Bondi described several cases that they had already prosecuted, including the Feeding Our Future scheme and a related juror bribery case. As Bondi pointed out, this situation was “not unlike what you would see in the corrupt Somali judicial system.”
In addition to the Feeding Our Future case, authorities have identified multiple instances of Medicaid fraud, including schemes involving services purportedly provided to children with autism.
In September, the Department of Justice announced charges against Asha Farhan Hassan, alleging the 28-year-old received nearly $500,000 for her role in a $14 million fraud scheme connected to autism services.
“As set forth in the information, Hassan and others devised and carried out a scheme to defraud the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (‘EIDBI’) benefit, a publicly funded Minnesota Health Care Program that offers medically necessary services to people under the age of 21 with autism spectrum disorder (‘ASD’). According to the Minnesota Department of Human Services (‘DHS’) website, the purpose of the EIDBI program is ‘to provide medically necessary, early and intensive intervention for people with ASD and related conditions,’” the release read.
