A North Carolina teenager who the FBI says planned to carry out a New Year’s Eve attack inspired by the Islamic State was on an agency watchlist for years before his arrest on Dec. 31.
Christian Sturdivant, an 18-year-old Burger King worker, was arrested and charged with plotting a "potential terrorist attack" on a grocery store and fast food restaurant in his suburban Charlotte hometown of Mint Hill, authorities announced on Jan. 2.
Sturdivant "pledged his loyalty to ISIS" and intended to become a martyr "to support the murder, torture and extreme violence that ISIS represents," according to FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle.
Barnacle said that the North Carolina teen’s affiliation with the extremist group represents "the very real threat posed by people who self-radicalize online."
It wasn't immediately clear if Sturdivant had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
