Authorities in Fairfax, Virginia, have arrested a Washington, D.C.-area transit police officer and charged him with attempting to give aid to the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group in the first case of a police officer arrested for trying to aid terror.
Officer Nicholas Young, 36, was arrested this week after buying up to $250 in gift cards that federal investigators say he intended to send to ISIS to help them purchase mobile phone apps to aid in their communications network, NBC News reports.
Court filings do not allege that officer Young had plans to launch any terror attacks here in the U.S., and he did not seem to pose any immediate threat to the D.C. Metro system.
Federal investigators have had Young under surveillance since 2010 and say he had visited Libya twice in 2011. Young had claimed he joined forces seeking to oust Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi during those visits.
It appears that Young first drew the suspicion of coworkers in the transit police department. Metro police alerted the FBI, and the investigation began.
The D.C. Metro police have noted that Young has been fired.
“Obviously, the allegations in this case are profoundly disturbing. They’re disturbing to me, and they’re disturbing to everyone who wears the uniform,” Metro general manager Paul Wiedefeld said in a statement reported by WFSB Channel 3.
Documents show that Young was affiliated with Zachary Chesser, who pleaded guilty to trying to join a foreign terror outfit in 2010. Young also had met regularly with Amine El Khalifi, who in 2012 was convicted of planning to bomb various sites in the U.S. Capitol.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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