00:00Reading ISIS material, started going to ISIS websites, making TikTok videos and eventually reached out to what he thought was a member of ISIS and reality was an undercover agent with NYPD in New York.
00:30The defendant here is an 18-year-old named Christian Sturtebant.
00:53He has been planning this attack for about a year, but he's been planning an attack for far longer than that.
01:00He was planning this attack in support of ISIS, and we have charged him with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, that organization being, of course, ISIS.
01:30And it was a very good way to serve on the Internet.
01:40So we're not working on the Internet, but we're already working on the Internet.
01:44It's still very much an active investigation.
02:03We had to act quickly here to protect the public, so we are light on details, but we'll
02:08tell you as much as we can, and Mr. Barnett will probably tell you more than I will about
02:13those charges, but I thought I would give you an overview of what's in the federal complaint,
02:20the charges that we charge.
02:53The defendant here is an
03:2218-year-old named Christian Sturdivant.
03:25He has been planning this attack
03:26for about a year, but he's been planning
03:28an attack for far longer than that.
03:31He was planning this attack in support
03:33of ISIS, and we have charged him
03:35with attempting to provide material support
03:36to a foreign terrorist organization.
03:39That organization being, of course, ISIS.
03:41Now, this is still very much
03:43an active investigation. We had to act
03:45quickly here to protect the public.
03:46So we are light on details,
03:49but we'll tell you as much as we can.
03:51And Mr. Barnacle will probably tell you more
03:52than I will about those charges, but I thought
03:54I would give you an overview of what's in the
03:56federal complaint, the charges that we charged.
03:59So Mr. Sturdivant started
04:01on the Internet. He started
04:02reading ISIS material, started
04:04going to ISIS websites, making TikTok
04:06videos, and eventually reached out to
04:08what he thought was a member of ISIS.
04:11In reality, it was an undercover agent
04:12with NYPD in New York.
04:14He pledged his allegiance to ISIS
04:16with that undercover agent,
04:19and he disclosed his plans to, quote,
04:20do jihad soon.
04:22He then met a second undercover
04:24with the FBI, who he also thought
04:26was an ISIS participant,
04:29and he started to be very specific
04:30with his plans.
04:32He talked with that undercover agent, again,
04:33who he thought was ISIS.
04:34He talked about
04:35where he was planning to do this attack,
04:38which was at a grocery store and a fast food
04:40restaurant in Mint Hill, places that
04:42we go every day and don't think
04:44that we may be harmed.
04:46He talked about what means
04:47he would use to kill innocent people.
04:50He said he was going to wear
04:51a Kevlar vest and attack people
04:53with knives and hammers.
04:55And, of course, he talked about
04:55when he was going to carry out
04:57this attack, which was New Year's Eve,
05:00a time when American life
05:01is on full display.
05:02We're all out there in crowds
05:03celebrating all that
05:05has happened this year,
05:07all that is to come,
05:08that we are so proud of.
05:10And that is when he planned his attack
05:12to attack that American way of life.
05:14The FBI executed a search warrant
05:17at his home,
05:18and they found the instrumentality
05:20of the attack.
05:20They found hammers and knives
05:22hidden under his bed.
05:23They found notes
05:24where he planned his attack
05:26and detailed his attack
05:27and plans for how he was going
05:29to carry out his attack.
05:31It was a very well-planned,
05:33thoughtful attack
05:35that he had planned
05:36and that was fortunately foiled here.
05:38He was preparing for Jihad,
05:40and innocent people were going to die.
05:41And we were very, very fortunate
05:43they did not.
05:45But the fact that along the way
05:46in this extensive planning
05:48of this attack,
05:49he encountered not one,
05:50but two undercover officers
05:52should make the public
05:53feel very, very good
05:54and very safe.
05:56Because law enforcement
05:56is out there every day,
05:58and we know they have a lot to do.
06:00But they have people out there
06:01making sure that
06:02as people plan these terrorist attacks,
06:03they have stops
06:04so they find it.
06:05And they did find it here.
06:06And on Christmas,
06:07while we were all opening presents,
06:09they were sitting in a driveway
06:10making sure that
06:11we're very, very appreciative of that.
06:15Mr. Sturdivant was arrested
06:16on New Year's Eve
06:17the day he planned his attack.
06:18Of course, it did not become public today.
06:20It has been under seal until today.
06:22He made his initial appearance
06:23in federal court this morning,
06:24about an hour ago.
06:26And this case is now moving
06:27through the judicial process.
06:29So he will have a preliminary hearing
06:31after that and a detention hearing.
06:33And of course,
06:33we will seek that he remain detained.
06:35But that's up to a federal judge
06:37on that issue.
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