California Man Allegedly Planned to Join al Qaeda in Iraq
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iStock/Thinkstock(BLAINE, Wash.) — A 20-year-old man from California has been arrested in Washington state for planning to join a terror group overseas, authorities said.
According to federal prosecutors, 20-year-old Nicholas Teausant, a member of the U.S. Army National Guard, planned to cross the Canadian border and then travel to Syria to join al Qaeda in Iraq.
Court documents show he has been enrolled in the Army National Guard but has been in the process of being released for not meeting qualifications.
Teausant has allegedly used social media to show a desire to conduct a violent jihad. In one post he said he wanted to know how to bring America to its knees.
According to court documents, Teausant sent a text to an FBI confidential informant in December, telling him, “Don’t go to LA anytime soon. Please trust me on this and if you do go don’t use the subway.”
The FBI says he also asked how to acquire fireworks from China Town that would create the biggest boom and would be compact.
Later Teausant told the informant the subway plan was canceled.
Teausant was arrested in Blaine, Washington, and faces a count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
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