The first-ever federal terrorism charges have been brought against a law enforcement officer in the US, with prosecutors alleging a patrol officer bought about $250 worth of gift cards for someone he thought was working with the Islamic State group.
Nicholas Young, 36, of Fairfax, was arrested on Wednesday at Metro Transit Police headquarters in Washington and charged with a single count of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist group.
According to an FBI affidavit, Young bought the gift cards last month that he intended for the Islamic State to use to purchase mobile messaging apps.
Young actually gave the codes for the gift cards to an undercover FBI officer, the affidavit said.
He made a brief court appearance on Wednesday afternoon, wearing a T-shirt and what appeared to be his uniform slacks.
David Smith, who was appointed to represent Young after the hearing, said he could not comment because he had not yet been able to research the details of the case.
If convicted, Young could face up to 20 years in prison.
Young had been under surveillance since 2010, and he travelled to Libya at least once in 2011, where he said he joined rebel forces seeking to oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi, the affidavit said.
He travelled with body armour, a Kevlar helmet and other military-style items.
Young was deeply paranoid about law enforcement spying on him, often taking out the battery of his mobile phone when he wanted to go somewhere and talk, the document said.
Young frequently told one undercover source to be wary of potential informants, according to the affidavit.
On January 24, 2011, an undercover officer said Young told the officer he once aimed an AK-47-style rifle out of a window at his residence, scanning for law enforcement he believed was watching him.
On another occasion, he grew angry that the FBI talked to his family and co-workers and said he wanted to find the FBI agent and kidnap and torture her.
The undercover officer said he "doubted that Young seriously intended to act upon those words," according to the affidavit.
Joshua Stueve, spokesman for the US lawyer for the Eastern District of Virginia, said Young posed no threat to the Metro system, and nowhere in the affidavit does it mention the subway and bus system for the nation's capital.
Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said Young, who had been employed since 2003, was fired.
FBI spokesman Andrew Ames confirmed that Young is the first law enforcement officer to be charged under the federal government's terrorism law.
As he was under surveillance, though, Young frequently made alarming comments, according to the affidavit. During one conversation with an undercover officer, Young said if he was ever betrayed by someone, "that person's head would be in a cinder block at the bottom of" a lake.
In March 2015, he raised suspicion when he brought a large amount of ammunition, AK-47s and a pistol to an off-duty weapons training event provided by another Metro officer. Young said he owned even more weapons, according to the affidavit.
He praised the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks at the Bataclan music hall and elsewhere, as well as the earlier Charlie Hebdo attacks, the document said.
According to George Washington University's Program on Extremism, Young is the 100th person since March 2014 to be charged with an offence related to support for the Islamic State.
