Photo Credit: U.S. Justice Department
The FBI arrested a 21-year-old Texas man for providing bomb-making materials to an undercover agent he believed was an ISIS “brother.”
John Michael Garza Jr. of Midlothian, Texas was charged last week after he brought various explosive materials to a meeting on December 22, the Justice Department announced on Monday. Garza believed he was meeting with another aspiring terrorist, according to the DOJ, but that was not the case.
“At the meeting, Garza handed the FBI undercover several explosive components. As alleged, Garza explained how to mix the ingredients and surround them with nails, and he offered to send the undercover an instructional bomb-building video,” the DOJ said.
An undercover New York City Police Department employee first noticed Garza’s terrorist sympathies in October, the feds claim. The undercover officer noticed a social media account “followed several other pro-ISIS accounts and wrote a comment on a pro-ISIS post.”
The cop “engaged” with the account — which turned out to be Garza’s — soon after; Garza told the cop he “ascribed to the ISIS ideology and sent the undercover multiple official ISIS media releases.”
Garza also sent the undercover officer “small sums” of cryptocurrency because he believed it was being used to buy firearms and other materials for ISIS.
“Today’s announcement underscores the FBI’s commitment to combatting [sic] 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.”
The feds said Garza sent undercover agents one video depicting a suicide vehicle bombing. He sent another “bomb-making instructional video” that showed a masked man wearing gloves and assembling materials; the DOJ did not mention if it believed Garza was the man in the video.
You can see a screenshot from that video above.
Garza was federally charged with international terrorism. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
“No attorney was listed for Garza in court records and the federal public defender’s office in Dallas did not immediately respond to phone messages seeking comment,” the Associated Press reported.
His arrest comes a few weeks after three Americans were killed by ISIS terrorists in Syria.
President Donald Trump vowed on Dec. 13 that there would be “serious retaliation” for the attack, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth launched a strike against 70 ISIS facilities a week later in response.
