Texas Man Charged With Terrorism for Attempting to Aid ISIS

DALLAS — The federal government says that a young man from Midlothian, Texas, tried to help the terrorist group ISIS in some way. The police charged the people after they found a troubling case that included plans to help terrorists, cryptocurrency transactions, and instructions on how to make bombs. This shows that police are still trying to stop extremism at home.

Police arrested 21-year-old John Michael Garza Jr. after an undercover operation showed that he wanted to help terrorists. The U.S. Department of Justice said that Garza had a lot of private meetings and conversations with undercover federal agents because he thought he was helping ISIS fighters.

An undercover police officer in New York City found a social media account linked to Garza that followed a lot of pages that supported ISIS. This is what led to the investigation. In October, the officer started talking to Garza. Garza said he agreed with ISIS's ideas during those talks and often called the group by its short name.

The evidence shows that Garza thought he was helping terrorists by giving them money and tools to make bombs. In November and December, he sent the undercover agent small amounts of cryptocurrency, saying that the money helped the Islamic State's cause.

The most upsetting part of the case was when Garza supposedly showed how to mix explosives at a meeting on December 22. Federal prosecutors said that Garza also offered to make a detailed video about how to make bombs, which shows that he wanted to help terrorists plan.

Officials say that Garza's plans were easy to understand. He talked about how to mix the things he had brought to the conference and possible attacks, which made people very worried about the possibility of domestic terrorism. He wasn't a threat right away because he was caught quickly after the meeting.

“Today’s announcement underscores the FBI’s commitment to combatting terrorism and demonstrates our continuous work to disrupt and thwart terrorist plots against the American public,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. “Let this serve as a warning to those who plan to conduct attacks against the United States on behalf of terrorist organizations – you will be brought to justice.”

On December 23, Garza went to court for the first time in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He didn't hire a lawyer right away, but federal prosecutors are going to show their proof at a hearing on Tuesday to see if there is enough evidence to hold him. If Garza is convicted, he might go to prison for as long as 20 years. This shows just how serious the crimes he's accused of are.

This case shows the challenges police face when trying to find and deal with threats inside people’s homes. Because extremist ideas are spreading on the internet, police are watching social media and other online activity for signs of radicalization and potential attacks.

This event is a clear reminder of the ongoing threat that people in the United States who want to help terrorists face. Officials said again that they will keep people safe and make sure that the law punishes anyone who wants to hurt someone else.