Army National Guard Reservist Accused of Providing Material Support to Al Qaeda

A reservist with the Army National Guard in California was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization since October, The Seattle Times learned from the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Monday.

Nicholas Teausant, a 20-year-old student at San Joaquin Delta Community College, from Acampo California, was arrested at the U.S. – Canadian border in Blaine, according to the federal complaint. The complaint claims he had the intention of going to Syria and joining the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, otherwise known as al-Qaida in Iraq, the Times notes.

Teausant went by train from California to Seattle. From there, a bus headed for Canada picked him up on Sunday night. U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped the bus right before midnight in Blaine, where Teausant was arrested by law enforcement.

Additionally, the complaint alleges, he posted material on the web showing his support and intention to join the terrorist organization. Teausant also revealed his plans to an FBI informant, says the complaint, during several meetings.  

According to Teausant’s Facebook page, his mother, Alicia Halderman Teausant, begged him not to take the trip to Iraq, saying in a FB post on his timeline, “Sounds exciting sometime, but what about Brooklyn? Please don’t leave the country, no matter what you do! We care about you and love you so much. Please consider your decision wisely!” She then suggests to come home and “fly to Ohio instead,” offering to buy the ticket in her next post.

Teausant’s other social media pages appear to offer additional connections to al-Qaeda. His Tumblr page has a gif of the 2^nd World Trade Center collapsing, and his YouTube channel shows videos of now dead al-Qaeda leader Anwar Aulaki and the Taliban.

Counter-terrorism analyst Patrick Poole told Breitbart News the arrest is a warning sign about efforts to radicalize U.S. soldiers.

“You look at Teausant’s Facebook page and there are statements and images exhibiting racism and inciting violence, and yet the Defense Department has so hamstrung their own force protection officials from raising warning flags with these indicators such that it would be the force protection officers facing charges rather than the extremist,” said Poole.

He added, “Even after the Ft Hood massacre and the planned 2011 follow-up attack by Naser Jason Abdo – a soldier with the 101st Airborne – the Pentagon continues to double-down on politically-correct policies that will get even more of their people killed.”