FBI arrests North Carolina man over IS-inspired New Year's Eve attack plan

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The FBI arrested an 18-year-old North Carolina man Wednesday on charges of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, federal officials announced Friday, saying agents had disrupted a New Year’s Eve plot to attack shoppers with knives and hammers at a Mint Hill grocery store and fast-food restaurant.

Christian Sturdivant allegedly pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group and described his attack plans in detail to an undercover FBI employee posing as a supportive confidant, according to prosecutors and court records. Mint Hill is a bedroom community of Charlotte.

The arrest came one year after 14 people were killed in New Orleans by a U.S. citizen who proclaimed support for IS on social media, and it highlights the FBI’s continued use of undercover operatives to detect IS-inspired plots before they are carried out.

The Alleged Plan

Online messages exchanged with the undercover operative and a search of Sturdivant’s home indicated the attack would be carried out with knives and hammers, according to prosecutors and an FBI affidavit filed in federal court.

FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle told reporters that searches of Sturdivant’s home and phone uncovered what investigators described as a manifesto detailing plans for the attack. A handwritten note found in a trash can at the home listed details of the planned attacks and the number of intended victims at a Burger King restaurant and an unnamed grocery store, the affidavit said. The note also stated that Sturdivant would attack arriving law enforcement officers and “hoped to die by the hands of police.”

A database check indicated that Sturdivant worked at a Burger King in Mint Hill, though it was not clear if that was the same restaurant listed in the note, the affidavit said. U.S. Attorney for Western North Carolina Russ Ferguson declined to identify the specific targeted businesses, citing the ongoing investigation.

Sturdivant “was willing to sacrifice himself,” Barnacle said.

Surveillance and Arrest

Worried that Sturdivant might attempt violence before New Year’s Eve, the FBI placed him under constant surveillance for days, including on Christmas, Ferguson said at a news conference in Charlotte. Agents were prepared to arrest him earlier if he had left his home carrying weapons, Ferguson said.

“At no point was the public in harm’s way,” Ferguson said.

Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remained in custody after a federal court appearance Friday. An attorney representing him did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Another hearing was scheduled for January 7.

If convicted, Sturdivant faces up to 20 years in prison, according to court documents.

Prior Incidents and the Current Investigation

The investigation began last month after authorities linked Sturdivant to a social media account that posted content supportive of IS, including imagery that appeared to promote violence, the affidavit said. The account’s display name referenced Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the former leader of the extremist group.

Sturdivant had previously come to the FBI’s attention in January 2022, when he was a minor, after officials learned he had been in contact with a suspected IS member in Europe and received instructions to dress in black, knock on people’s doors and commit attacks with a hammer, Barnacle said. At that time, Sturdivant set out for a neighbor’s house armed with a hammer and a knife but was restrained by his grandfather, according to the affidavit.

No charges were filed following that incident. Sturdivant underwent psychological treatment and the FBI was told he no longer had access to social media, Barnacle said. But the FBI discovered weeks ago that he had returned to social media, Barnacle added.

Sting Operations and Broader Context

The FBI has disrupted several alleged plots through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, providing advice or equipment. Critics have argued the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable individuals who would not have the means to act alone.

Ferguson said the fact that Sturdivant encountered two undercover officers while allegedly planning the attack should reassure the public.

In December, the FBI in Los Angeles announced the disruption of a separate New Year’s Eve plot, arresting members of an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group who federal officials said planned to bomb multiple sites in southern California.

Some analysts have argued that IS functions increasingly as a brand, inspiring attacks by individuals and groups with whom the organization may have no direct operational connection.

Other IS-inspired attacks over the past decade include a 2015 shooting rampage by a couple who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, and a 2016 attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in which a gunman fatally shot 49 people.