Man sentenced to 15 years for plotting Pier 39 attack

A Modesto man who planned a thwarted Christmas Day attack on Pier 39 was sentenced to 15 years in prison, authorities said Monday. A district court judge sentenced the 27-year old man for attempting to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist group ISIS.

According to agreement terms, Everitt Jameson, who pleaded guilty June 4, voiced support for the Islamic State of Iraq and elSham from September to December. In talks online with a confidential source, Jameson expressed support for the Oct. 31 terror attack in New York City.

In a Dec. 16 exchange, Jameson claimed to have funds and military combat training, and said he could obtain supplies, including explosives, nails and PVC pipe, in order to attack San Francisco’s Pier 39. Authorities said Jameson, a tow-truck driver, was arrested Dec. 22 before he could carry out his plan.

Jameson had joined the Marines and received basic training, including earning a sharpshooter rifle qualification. But in court documents, he was described as having been ultimately discharged for failure to disclose a history of asthma.

According to The Associated Press, in previous hearings, Jameson’s case defender said Jameson had a history of mental illness, no access to the legally obtained and secured weapons in a Fresno relative’s home, and noted an FBI search found no bomb-making materials, adding that the government’s charges “are built only on statements his client posted on his Facebook page.”

In statements Monday, government officials praised the sentence.

“There is no place in the United States for terrorists and terrorist sympathizers who threaten innocent people, and the National Security Division will relentlessly seek to identify them and bring them to justice,” said John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security.

“Jameson put his fellow Americans at risk by supporting ISIS and planning an attack on behalf of the terrorist organization. This is unacceptable, and I am grateful for the hardworking agents and prosecutors who are responsible for this successful result.”

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said that “protecting our communities from terrorist threats is the Department of Justice’s highest priority.

“With the assistance of our investigative partners, we will continue to work to prevent such attacks and to vigorously prosecute those who seek to provide material support to terrorist organizations. We are grateful for the hard work of the FBI and the DOJ’s National Security Counterterrorism Division for their teamwork in bringing this case to a just conclusion.”