US cop charged after evidence suggested he was trying to help ISIS
Nicholas Young, 36, from Fairfax, Virginia, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation
A TRANSIT-POLICE officer in the US has been charged in an FBI sting after evidence suggested he had been attempting to support ISIS.
Nicholas Young, 36, from Fairfax, Virginia, was arrested on Wednesday and was charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation.
Court documents revealed he bought nearly $250 in gift cards and was intending to buy mobile apps which would assist with communication for Islamic State fighters.
In an FBI affidavit, it said Young thought he was messaging with an informant who worked with them, but it was actually an undercover FBI source.
Documents stated he has been watched wince 2010, and he went to Libya on two occasions in 2011, where he said he joined rebel forces who were looking to oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
He travelled with a kevlar helmet, and body armour, as well as other military style items.
Young had been working with the transit police force for 12 years - the FBI said he was the first law enforcement officer to be charged with a terror-related crime in the US.
However he did not pose a threat to the Metro system in Washington.
In statements it detailed he was first interviewed back in 2010, and had been interacting with a number of undercover officers and a co-operating witness, where he discussed his knowledge and interest in terrorist-related activity.
Young said in one recorded conversation he hated the FBI and thought he had the know how to attack the agency.
His family and co-workers were also interviewed by law enforcement.
In 2014, he met with an FBI source on 20 different occasions - they were posing as a soldier who was more religious after fighting Muslims in Iraq.
Young, who could face up to 20 years in prison, told the contact how to evade detection by law enforcement, and use special travel techniques.
From Autumn 2014, he thought the source had left the US to join ISIS, but in fact the FBI had taken over the email account.
He also told police officers in an interview that year he had dressed up as 'Jihadi John" for Halloween, and made it look like he was being carried by a headless hostage, by stuffing an orange jumpsuit full of paper.
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The affidavit said Young was proud to reference the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, and in June last year he asked how to send ISIS commanders money overseas.
He wrote: "[U]nfortunately I have enough flags on my name that I can't even buy a plane ticket without little alerts ending up in someone's hands, so I imagine banking transactions are automatically monitored and will flag depending on what is going on."
It was the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority which instigated the investigation.
In a statement, CEO Paul Wiedefeld said: "Since I received my first briefing on this matter, Chief Pavlik and I have worked hand-in-glove with the FBI in the interest of public safety and to ensure that this individual would be brought to justice.
"Metro Transit police alerted the FBI about this individual, and then worked with our federal partners throughout the investigation up to and including today's arrest."
He added: "Obviously, the allegations in this case are profoundly disturbing.
"They're disturbing to me and they're disturbing to everyone who wears this uniform."