‘Terror strike’ thwart
Two men plotted terror attacks on high-profile US targets, including Trump Tower and the New York Stock Exchange, where they claimed the destruction would be “Netflix-worthy” and earn them “rock-star status,” federal authorities said.
Kristopher Sean Matthews, of Elgin, SC, is accused of conspiring with other ISIS supporters over a period of months, including a Texas man named Jaylyn Christopher Molina, according to a 14page criminal complaint filed in US District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio.
The pair, who were arrested Monday, discussed several possible sites for US terror attacks and Matthews suggested to “hit government centers” rather than places “like malls where innocent children are,” court documents state.
“We need to stick together. We need to defeat them. We need to take a lot of casualties, a lot of numbers,” Molina allegedly wrote in a secretive chat group where FBI investigators said they pledged their loyalty to ISIS.
Matthews then suggested in late May that the pair target state and Social Security buildings, as well as the stock market or Trump Tower in Midtown or the White House by shooting it from the outside, court documents show.
As few as four individuals “could be enough” to carry out the attacks, Molina replied, although he suggested any such operation should have up to eight accomplices, the complaint states.
If they “accomplished the mission,” Matthews said, the attacks would grant them “rock-star status, baby,” the document shows.
“This could be Netflix-worthy,” Matthews allegedly wrote in the chat group, court papers show.
The duo also discussed possible attacks at the headquarters of the CIA, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to the complaint.
“I would hit places like that to send a message,” Matthews allegedly wrote while advising that a team of operatives be in place. “In my opinion, if you really want to do some damage and make a statement I would have a team . . . have a three to four man team and everyone spreads out . . . hit different sides then boom engulf them.”
The FBI used undercover agents and confidential sources to track down the pair, who are accused of conspiring to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, court documents show. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.
Molina, who referred to himself as Abdur Rahim, was arrested by the FBI in San Antonio. He’s expected to appear in federal court in San Antonio early next week, KSAT reports.
Matthews, who was arrested in Tennessee, referred to himself as Ali Jibreel and used an encrypted messaging app last year to try to find an ISIS facilitator outside the United States to help him travel to Syria and recruit additional members, according to the complaint.
Both Molina and Matthews pledged allegiance to ISIS and discussed traveling to Syria to fight for the terror group, the complaint states. Molina also joined the same encrypted chat sometime in April and posted manuals on how to train with an AK-47 and how to build a bomb, federal authorities allege.
Molina, of Cost, Texas, also posted an extremely graphic photo collage on social media of an American citizen being killed by ISIS, according to the complaint.
The pair allegedly wrote as recently as early August that they could use a “multi-wave” strategy to carry out the terror attacks, court documents show.
“Molina also described attacking communications centers and plans to ‘fortify a town barrier and establish the first bases or establish a HQ ,’ ” the complaint reads.
Molina was also in contact in late August with a woman from an unidentified European nation who sought bomb-making instructions, authorities allege.
“Let it be clear, I am against America,” Molina allegedly posted in an online chat in early May. “America is my enemy.”