Maine teen plotted ISIS-inspired attack over Instagram

Federal prosecutors are offering new details about an alleged terrorist plot involving a Waterville, Maine, teenager arrested a month ago, and two unidentified juveniles in Illinois and Kentucky.A five-page declaration from Maine-based FBI Agent Garret Drew, unsealed Friday, depicts 18-year-old Xavier Pelkey as wanting to die as a martyr in an ISIS-inspired attack allegedly targeting Chicago-area mosques and a synagogue.As new evidence attached to the declaration, the FBI pointed to a hand-painted ISIS flag hanging on the wall of Pelkey’s bedroom in the apartment where agents seized three homemade explosive devices when they arrested him on Feb. 11.Pelkey is currently charged with one count of possession of unregistered destructive devices and is being detained without bail.However, the FBI declaration goes further than the criminal complaint, saying Pelkey “conspired” with a 15-year-old in Chicago and 17-year-old in Kentucky with whom he communicated over Instagram using the name “Abdullah.”Citing statements from the other teens, the declaration alleges Pelkey intended to bring guns and ammunition to Chicago, in addition to his explosive devices, after traveling there by bus or by train in late March.Pelkey allegedly told the Chicago teen he had built an explosive device to “get more people,” the Drew declaration said.On Feb. 5, FBI agents in Chicago seized “multiple firearms, including a Remington pump shotgun, swords, knives, a bow and arrows, multiple homemade ISIS flags, and multiple electronic devices” from the Chicago’s teen’s residence, the declaration revealed.The plot called for entering a mosque where the plotters would “separate the adults from the children, then murder the adults,” according to the declaration, citing statements by the Chicago teen.The declaration continued, “If they had not encountered law enforcement at that point, they would continue on to another Shia mosque or Jewish synagogue and execute the same plan. They did not have a plan to escape but rather their plan ended with them being shot by law enforcement.”On Feb. 13, FBI agents raided the home of a Kentucky teen “suspected of conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization,” the declaration said.The Kentucky teen told agents Pelkey “told him that he wanted Allah to grant him to be a shaheed and die while fighting in the cause of Allah,” the declaration said.“Shaheed” is an Arabic word that means a martyr is Islam.Pelkey’s court-appointed defense attorney, Christopher MacLean, did not return messages seeking comment.Jenna Spaulding, a spokeswoman for the office of U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee, declined to comment.The federal government brought it first ISIS-related terrorism indictment in 2014, and the number of cases peaked around 150 in 2015, before their frequency declined, according to the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School.At the time, then-FBI Director James Comey stated the FBI had open investigations related to ISIS in all 50 states.Many cases focused on Americans or “foreign fighters” attempting to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria, such as the first ISIS jury trial conviction in New York, in 2016.“ISIS remains relentless and ruthless in its campaign of violence against the West and has aggressively promoted its hateful message, attracting like-minded violent extremists,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress in September 2020. “It is seen by many who use messaging apps and participate in social networks. Ultimately, many of the individuals drawn to ISIS seek a sense of belonging.”